THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE     VOICES. 


("  THE  VOICE  OF   NATURE,"    "  THE  VOICE  OF  A  PEBBLE," 

"  THE  VOICE    OF    SUPERSTITION,"  AND  "  THE 

VOICE   OF   PRAYEB.") 


BY 

WAEREN   SUMNER   BAELOW. 


EIGHTH   EDITION. 


BOSTON: 
COLBY    &    RICH. 


F.ntere'l,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  l>y 

W.  S.  BARLOW, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


TROW'S 
PRINTING  AND  HOOKBINDING  Co., 

PKINTERS    AND    HOOKBINDKKS, 

205-213   Knst  i2//*  6V., 

NUW  YOI;K. 


TO 

THOSE    WHO    HAVE    BASS 
TO    HEAR, 

"THE  VOICES"  ARE  RESPECTFULLY 
DEDICATED. 


623856 


CONTENTS. 


THE  VOICE  OF  NATURE 

Is  founded  on  the  idea  of 

One  God,  with  one  revokeless  plan, 
Embracing  every  world  and  man ; 
That  man  should  learn  to  comprehend, 
That  all  to  good  results  doth  tend. 

Page  7. 

THE  VOICE  OF  A  PEBBLE 

Aims  to  teach  the  Individuality  of   Matter  and  Mind, 
Fraternal  Charity  and  Love.  Page  87. 

THE  VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION 

Presents  the  conflict  that  many  suppose  exists  between 
their  Maker  and  an  imaginary  evil  being.  Page  55. 

THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER 

Aims  to  inculcate  the  idea  that 

No  law  is  suspended  should  earth  everywhere 
Unite  in  one  chorus  to  swell  the  same  prayer. 
Then  pray  that  your  prayers  with  God's  laws  ever 

blend, 

In  union  with  deeds  that  will  bless  and  extend  ; 
For  these  are  the  prayers  that  the  Lord  ever  heeds, 
Regardless  of  color,  of  birth,  or  of  creeds ; 
We  thus  build  a  ladder,  each  deed  is  a  round, 
Which  reaches  to  heaven,  while  touching  the  ground. 

Page  193. 


VOICE    OF   NATURE. 


PRELUDE. 


ALL  Nahire  speaks  the  attributes  of  God, 
Whose  vast  domains  of  matter  and  of  mind, 
Accord  forever  with  His  holy  will. 
All  life  is  an  expression  of  His  love, 
All  seeming  death,  is  birth  to  higher  life; 
All  discord  is  the  fragment  of  a  scale 
Which,  had  man  the  power  to  comprehend, 
Would  be  replete  with  harmony  divine. 


VOICE   OF   NATURE. 


ETERNAL  Father!    in  whose  life  we  live, 
"Whose  boundless  love  doth  every  blessing  give, 
Whose    wisdom    planned     and     beautifies    the 

whole, 

And  speaks  the  wonders  of  divine  control ; 
Whose  power  is  ever  equal  to  fulfill 
The  changeless  purpose  of  Thy  holy  will ; 
Whose  will  is  law,  with  one  revokeless  aim, 
Through  all  extent  eternally  the  same ; 
While  Nature,  loyal  to  her  code  of  laws, 
Responds  to  Thee,  the  Universal  Cause ! 
From  smallest  atom  which  no  eye  can  trace, 
To  suns  and  worlds  that  decorate  all  space, 
From  lowest  instinct  to  the  plane  of  man, 
To  highest  seraphs,  all  adorn  Thy  plan ; 


10  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

Alike  are  objects  of  Thy  tender  care ; 
Alike  perform  their  mission  everywhere ; 
Alike  adapted  to  the  spheres  they  till, 
In  perfect  union  all  obey  Thy  will. 

Relentless  man !    in  view  of  truths  like  these, 
Why  sit  you  down  in  ignorance  and  ease? 
Why  falter  by  the  road,  or  from  it  stray, 
While  God's  eternal  signals  light  the  way? 
Old  honest  Time — the  scribe  of  every  age — 
In  Nature's  volume  writes  on  every  page 
A  universal  language,  understood 
By  every  soul,  that  God  is  great  and  good. 

From  lowest  stratum  to  the  verdant  plain, 
Behold  the  links  in  this  important  chain ; 
Each  link  dependent  on  the  one  below, 
Each  marked  with  progress  as  we  upward  go ; 
Till  vegetation  spreads  her  carpet  green, 
And  creeping  things,  and  animals,  are  seen. 
While  man — the  crowning  apex  of  the  whole — 
Is  made  the  temple  for  a  living  soul, 


VOICE    OF   NATURE.  \\ 

In  whom  all  other  forms  and  powers  combine — 
The  union  of  the  earthly  and  divine. 

From  grossest  matter  to  the  most  refined, 
Each  grain  is  working  as  it  was  designed: 
Each  in  its  sphere  their  labors  do  impart, 
Unskilled  in  science,  and  untaught  by  art ; 
Each  brute  fulfills  its  mission,  small  or  great, 
No  less  than  kingdom  formed  inanimate  ; 
Each  rock  a  volume  gilded  o'er  with  age  ; 
Each  grain  that  forms  it,  is  a  written  page; 
Each  shell  contains  a  lesson  if  we  seek  ; 
Each  pebbled  brook  with  eloquence  doth  speak. 
The  rippling  rill  that  cheers  the  mountain  side, 
Salutes  its  mate  to  form  the  river  wide  ; 
While  arm  in  arm  they  journey  to  the  sea, 
Where  all  unite  in  joyful  harmony; 
Yet  every  breeze  that  fans  the  vacant  main, 
Brings  back  to  earth  the  little  streams  again. 

Lo !  Spring  unlocks  her  many  frozen  bands, 

A.nd  melts  the  icy  jewels  from  her  hands; 
1* 


12  VOICE  OF  NATURE. 

From  long  repose  she  wakes  the  sleeping  flowers, 

Whose  fragrant  smiles  make  glad  the  passing  hours ; 

Her  verdant  carpets  all  the  fields  adorn, 

The  new  clad  forests  sparkle  in  the  morn ; 

The  feathered  songsters  tune  their  gladsome  lay, 

While  genial  showers  and  sunshine  gild  the  day. 

The  changing  seasons  of  earth's  broad  domains, 
Bring    wealth     and     gladness     in     their    daily 

trains  / 

Tims  Nature  works  in  all  her  varied  forms, 
Through  joyous  sunshine,  and  in  wint'ry  storms ; 
While  every  thing  in  water,  air,  or  earth, 
Performs    the    will    of   Him    who    gave    them 

birth : 

All  things  co-operate,  and  ever  blend, 
To  serve  each  other  for  a  noble  end. 

Thus  Nature's  law  directs,  and  all  obey  ; 

Her  laws  are  just  and  have  triumphant  sway  ; 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  13 

All  law  is  love  adapted  to  each  sphere, 
And  thus  controlled,  the  law  is  not  severe; 
Each  has  its  line  of  life  distinct  to  run, 
All  plainly  marked — as  plainly  what  to  shun  ; 
All  heed  God's  law,  can  choose  no  other  way; 
This  trutli  is  clear,  to  act  is  to  obey. 
Can  apples  grow  on  oaks,  where  acorns  thrive  1 
Can  bees  turn  spiders  and  forsake  their  hive? 
Can  fishes  live  on  trees  where  linnets  sing  ? 
A  monkey  shave  his  face  and  be  a  king  ? 
Then  doubt  no  more,  for  all  are  to  fulfill 
The  changeless  purpose  of  their  Maker's  will, 
All  have  their  proper  sphere,  or  lot  assigned, 
Adapted  to  their  nature  or  their  mind. 

While  viewing  thus  the  laws  that  govern  these, 
Beast,  bird,  and  insect,  blooming  flowers  and 

trees, 

And  in  them  all  God's  grand  designs  we  trace, 
We  must  conclude  'tis  thus  throughout  all  space; 
Like  the  frail  needle  that  directs  afar, 


[4  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

If  true  an  inch  'tis  true  to  distant  star. 
Omnipotence  established  His   decree, 
Mapped  out  all  time,  no  less  eternity. 

"  Thou  great  First  Cause "   and   only  Cause   di« 

rect, 

All  else  existing  only  is  effect; 
Cause  and  effect  must  harmonize  and  blend, 
To  doubt  the  cause,  we  need  but  doubt  the  end. 

When  on  the  verge  of  Time's  primeval  morn, 
Before  a  sun  or  satellite  was  born, 
Or  first  glad  fay  of  oriental  light 
Dispelled  the  gloom  of  an  eternal  night, 
While    chaos    reigned    through    endless    depths 

of  space, 

And  coming  years  had  no  recording  place, 
Yet    worlds    unborn    were     in     the    womb    of 

thought, 

Which  were  by  God  and  Nature  long  begot ; 
And  God  through  LAW,  by  which  He  doth  con 

troi. 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  15 

Was    breathing    life    and    beauty    through    the 

whole ; 

Was  working  out  a  problem  true  and  grand, 
Which  we  but  dimly  see,  less  understand, 
And  through  eternity  His  law  reveals 
His  changeless  plan  that  ignorance  conceals. 
Like  as  Himself,  His  law  must  be  divine, 
Through  which  His  attributes  forever  si  line. 
God's  perfect  law  can  never  be  deranged ; 
Is  ever  changeless,  though  all  else  is  changed  : 
No  clause  abridged,  none  added,  none  repealed  ; 
Jehovah  can  not  change  it — tfiis  w?  sealed  ! 
Perfection  altered,  would  produce  a  flaw; 
God   can    not    err,   hence,  can   not   change   Ilia 

law : 

While  ceaseless  ages  constitute  the  past, 
Though  future  cycles  will  forever  last, 
Unchanging  law  hath  beautified  the  whole, 
Outlives  all  ages,  ever  will  control, 
Yea,  God  Himself  is  law;  and  His  decree 
Propels  the  movements  of  eternity. 


IQ  VOIGE    OF  NATURE. 

Creation  but  one  galaxy  unfurls — 
Jehovah's  crown  a  diadem  of  pearls ! 
Eaph  star-lit  gem  upon  the  whole  depends; 
Th&  whole  to  each,  a  needed  influence  lends: 
Each  orb,  an  aggregate  of  countless  grains; 
Each  grain  a  key,  a  ponderous  arch  sustains; 
Destroy  but  one,  the  boundless  spheres  will  fall, 
And  tumble  worlds  to  chaos,  one  and  all ; 
Thus  all  are  links  in  Nature's  endless  chain — 
The  hand   that .  forged  them  never  wrought  in 
vain. 

Great  God!  what  wisdom  is  at  Thy  command, 
What  power,  while  worlds  are  balanced  in  Thy 

hand! 

Thy  watchful  care  directs  the  slender  blade, 
And  warms  with    sunshine    and    protects  with 

shade, 

Enriches  earth  with  rivers,  lakes,  and  seas, 
Directs  the  storm,  yet  whispers  in  the  breeze, 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  17 

While  worlds  revolve  in  undiscowred  space, 
Where  weary  thought  can  find  no  resting-place  ; 
Yet  not  a  single  grain  is  left  to  chance, 
Throughout  creation's  infinite  expanse ; 
Thy  love    and   wisdom    mold    and    guide    the 

whole, 
From  motes  in  sunbeams  to  all  spheres  that  roll. 

But  where  is  man — the  apex  of  God's  lov«, 
The  link  connecting  earth  to  spheres  above  3 
Hath  he  no  part  in  this  stupendous  plan? 
He  left  to  grope  his  way  as  best  he  can  ? 
He  made  to  walk  a  dim  and   dangerous  path, 
Mid  darkness,  dogmas,  superstition,  wrath  ? 
With  feeble  step,  while  doubts  assail  his  mind, 
A  hell  perhaps  to  shun,  a  heavea  to  find? 
A  hell !     For  whom  ?     For  man,  a  priest  replies ; 
And  man  alone,  of  all  beneath  the  skies, 
Is  doomed  to  wail  in  endless  pain  and  woe, 
T.o  flaming  fire,  for  God  hath  made  it  so; 
Our  Heavenly  Father  fired  the  molten  lake 


18  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

For  His  dear  children  e'er  he  them  did  make : 
Thus  saith   the  priest,  and   all   the  church    be- 
lieve ; 

Whatever  he  may  preach,  they  will  receive. 
Who  can  believe,  when  taught  by  reason's  light, 
That  man  is  wholly  wrong,  all  else  is  right? 
That    God's    great    purpose    fails   with    human 

souls, 

While  all  of  lesser  value  He  controls ! 
That  man  alone  is  doomed  to  weep  and  wail, 
Through  endless  ages  in  a  dismal  vale; 
In  vain  to  pray  with  supplicating  cry, 
"  My  God,  how-  long  !    must  I  forever  die  ?" 
"  Forever !"    echoes  from  God's  awful  throne, 
With    mocks    and    jeers    at    every     burdened 
groan ! * 

O  thoughtless  man,  reflect,  can  this  be  true, 
When  God  who  made  thee,  had  thy  end  in  view  ? 
Will  He  who  hears  the  ravens  when  they  cry, 
1  Prov.  L  26. 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  19 

Mock  and  deride  thee,  when  no  hope  is  nigh  ? 

Will  He  who  clothes  the  lilies  of  the  field, 

That  neither  toil,  nor  spin,  nor  raiment  yield ; 

Who  feeds  the  fowls  that  never  reap  nor  sow, 

Extends  His  watchful  care  where'er  they  go ; 

Will  He  who  clothes  the  grass  which  is  to-day, 

While  all  its  beauty  quickly  fades  away, 

Forget  His  image — His  immortal  child?1 

Is  he  alone  derided  and  defiled? 

Or  left  to  tread  the  downward  thoroughfare, 

With  Satan  to  bewilder  and  ensnare, 

And  urge  him  on  to  death  and  dark  despair? 

"  O  ye  of  little  faith !"  let  reason  sway : 

Are  not  your  souls  more  precious  far  than  they  f 

Believe  that  God  thy  Father  is  thy  friend, 
And  hath  designed  thee  for  a  noble  end : 
Made  earth  thy  home,  selected  each  his  clime, 
The  age  in  which  to  live,  and  length  of  time ; 
Ordained  the  path  for  every  human  soul, 

1  Matt.  vi.  26-30. 


20  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

Before  it  had  a  thought  of  self-control: 
Illumines  each  with  Hope's  inspiring  ray, 
And  gives  a  foretaste  of  immortal  day ; 
While  all  are  molded  by  the  hand  of  fate, 
Before  the  mind  attains  its  conscious  state : 
"  Just  as  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree's  inclined," 
Is  no  less  truthful  of  the  human  mind. 

Doth  man  select  his  native  land?    his  birth? 
Can  any  these  reject,  throughout  the  earth? 
Yet    clime    and    birth    direct    and    mold     the 

mind, 
And  mark  the  path  to  which  man  is  inclined. 

Who  gave  the  different    faiths   their  hope  and 

fear? 

And  each  the  Bible  they  so  much  revere? 
All  claiming  leaders  from  the  upper  sphere, 
Divinely  sent  to  banish  every  tear. 

The  Hindoo  reads  with  reverence  the  Shaster ; 
The  Persian  takes  his  law  from  Zoroaster ; 


VOICE    OF   NATURE.  21 

Mohammed  wrote  the  Koran  as  inspired; 
All  are  revered  as  if  by  heaven  required. 
While  thus  sincere,  the  law  to  each  is  right ; 
Each    page   and   volume   beams  with  heavenly 

light. 

Who  made  ns  Christians  and  gave  us  our  law? 
All  others  wrong,  but  ours  without  a  flaw  f 
Are  thus  nine-tenths  of  all  mankind  deceived 
In  their  religion,  honestly  believed? 
Is  God  thus  partial  to  the  human  race  ? 
While  love  divine  is  seen  in  all  we  trace? 
While  suns  and  systems  move  in  order  grand, 
Propelled  by  laws  ordained  by  His  command; 
While  every  grain  in  this  terrestrial  ball, 
Alike  sustains,  yet  each  sustaining  all; 
While  all  creation  is  but  one  design, 
Through  which  eternal  harmonies  combine, 
Who  will  presume,  in  this  stupendous  plan, 
That  He  who  governs  all,  neglected  man? 
That  He  directs  revolving  worlds  with  care, 
Yet  lays  for  man  a  fatal,  artful  snare? 


22  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

That  God  hath  made  immortal  souls  in  vain, 
Or,  what  is  worse,  made  most  for  endless  pain  \ 
That  His  dear  children  under  any  sky, 
Were  made  immortal  to  forever  die? 
Or  that  there  can  exist  a  human  soul, 
Devoid  of  God's  divine,,  supreme  control  ? 
For  He  adapts  the  food  to  every  mind, 
And  shapes  the  destiny  of  all  mankind. 
Thus  every  people  hath  a  form  of  praise, 
Most  wisely  suited  to  its  wants  and  waye  ; 
And  every  soul  in  this  and  every  land, 
1&  kindly  nurtured  by  a  Father's  hand  ; 
And  is  directed  by  unchanging  law, 
To  choose  the  right,  from  danger  to  withdraw. 

/ 

While  worlds  by  kind  attraction  heed  their  way, 
They  also  firm  repellant  force  obey ; 
And  move  and  shine  while  endless  ages  roll, 
Propelled  by  laws  that  ever  will  control. 
And  mind  no  less  than  matter  will  obey, 
Though  oft  it  may  transgress  and  long  delay. 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  23 

The  pains  of  sin  are  friends  in  timely  need, 
To  teach  mankind  their  evil  ways  to  heed ; 
While     peace     that     flows     from     actions    well 

defined, 

Will  guide  our  footsteps  and  direct  the  mind; 
And  as  we  each  obey  or  violate, 
We  learn  to  love  the  right,  the  wrong  to  hate  • 
Thus  are  we  taught  by  every  word  and  deed, 
To  shun  the  paths  of  sin,  God's  laws  to  heed. 

Why  not  to  rocky  height  and  brink  repair, 
And  make  a  fatal  leap,  devoid  of  care  ? 
Why  not  descend  Niagara's  .awful  roar, 
Or  in  a  frail  balloon  the  stars  explore? 
Why  not  plunge  headlong  into  raging  fire  ? 
Or  when  you  thirst,  a  boiling  fount  desire? 
Why  not  on  thorny  pillows  rest  your  head? 
An  1  \viih  h.3t  embers  make  your  nightly  bed  ? 
Because  unchanging  law,  without  delay, 
In  love  chastises  when  we  disobey, 
To  teach  us  all  the  true  and  better  way. 


24  VOWS    OF  NATURE. 

Wiiy    not,    when    howling    storms    their    fury 

pour, 

Expel  the  freezing  traveller  from  your  door? 
Why  happy  when  he  eats  his  cheerful  meal, 
And  blesses  God  you  have  a  heart  to  feel? 
Because  the  law  of  love  is  ever  sure 
To  bless  each  soul  who  kindly  feeds  the  poor. 
How  wise  this  law,  how  powerful  for  good, 
When  once  obeyed,  and  fully  understood. 
How  true  that  pain,  with  all  its  varied  ills, 
And  every  pleasure  that  our  being  thrills, 
Are  each  effects  of  their  producing  cause, 
Sustained  by  God's  divine  unchanging  laws. 
False  steps  reveal  the  alphabet  of  truth, 
Though  sad  the  lesson  to  a  wayward  youth ; 
If  age  or  youth  from  Nature's  laws  depart 
Like  children  burned,  they  learn   to   dread    I  he 

smart ; 

Eternal  justice  poises  every  deed, 
With  joy,  or  sorrow,  as  we  sow  the  seed. 
Thus  retribution  comes  with  kindly  pain, 


VOICE   OF  NATURE.  25 

To  teach  transgressors  not  to  stray  again. 
And  holy  joys  will  never  be  delayed, 
When  laws  are  known,  and  rigidly  obeyed. 
Thus  all  by  mingled  pleasures,  pains,  and  fears, 
Will  learn  the  way  as  they  advance  in  years. 

That  God  ordained  the  whole  is  understood 

To  ultimate  in  universal  good; 

Yet  hath  no  less  decreed  that  man  shall  be, 

Within  a  given  sphere,  an  agent  free  ; 

As  fishes  well  secured  ia  globes  of  glass, 

Are  free  within,  though  none  without  can  pass ; 

While  they,  like  us,  look  outward  all  around, 

May  often   wish   a  larger  range  was   found. 

But  highest  wisdom  hath  ordained  this  plan, 

To  focalize  the  feeble  powers  of  man ; 

Where    each    may   freely    choose    a    field    of 

thought — 

May  grope  in  darkness,  or  be  wisely  taught; 
Where  all  will  learr,  as  laws  are  understood, 
To  harmonize  with  universal  good. 


26  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

Thus   God   ordained   that   every   wayward   soul, 
Should  walk  in  wisdom's  ways  by  self-control. 
Hence  man's  free  agency  is   not   denied, 
While   God's  grand   purposes   are  glorified. 

Why  then  repine  ?    why  not  pursue   the  goal  '\ 
Obey  the  high   emotions   of  the   soul? 
They   are  the  voice  of  God  in   tones   of  love, 
Inviting   each   to  joys  that  are   above. 
Our   aspirations   ever   upward   soar; 
We   never  hope  for  less,  but   always   more. 
And  c£n   the  Author  of  our  hopes   decry 
And    leave   a   famished  soul  to   starve  and  die  ? 
O   God,   forbid !   our  longing   nature   cries, 
While  hope  confiding  mounts  the  azure  skies. 
Sweet  hope !  thou  beacon-light  to  weary  souls, 
Illumed  by   Him   who  everywhere   controls, 
A   cheerful   promise,   full   of  holy  joy, 
A  glimpse,  a  touch,  that  time  can  not  destroy ; 
And  he  who  doubts,  must  question  means  and  ends, 
And  think  that  God  is  bankrupt  and  suspends  ' 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  97 

A  glorious   future  cheers  the  human   race; 
Unending   Progress  hath   no   resting-place ; 
While   all   our  fondest   hopes   exultant  rise, 
To  reach   the  land   where   sorrow   only   dies ; 
To  meet  our  happy   friends   who  went  before, 
Who'll  gladly  greet  us  as  we  near  the  shore. 

Let  stoics  misconstrue   Divine  decrees, 

Usurp  the  rule,    give    heaven    to    whom    they 

please, 

'Tis  yet   their  mission,   and   no  doubt  it's  best, 
That  they  should  belch  the  fire  that  burns  their 

breast. 

They  fain  believe  the    Lord   doth  oft  repent,1 
In   sorrow   walks,   in   sadness  doth   relent, 
Consults  with  man  who  arbitrates  his  cause ; 
Is   oft   induced   to   compromise   His  laws ; 
That  Satan  thwarted  God  with  mother  Eve, 
Which  made  the  Lord  repent  and  deeply  gneve. 

1  Gen  vi.  6;  Ex.  xxxii.  14;  1  Sam!,  iv.  35. 


23  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

If  man  doth  not  comport  with  God's  decree, 
Or  runs  a  race  that  God  did  not  foresee, 
Or  if  He  saw,  not  choosing  to  prevent, 
Or,  choosing,  had  not  power  omnipotent ; 
Or,  having  power,  had  not  the  traits  combined, 
To  mold  and  fashion  man  to  suit  His  mind, 
Then  may  old  orthodoxy  well  repose, 
Upon  its  gloomy  doctrines  and  its  woes. 

Child  of  thy  Father  God,  use  common  senoo--- 
Stand  forth  a  man, — believe  Omnipotence! 
Think  for  thyself,  maintain  thy  high  behest; 
Be  happy  now,  yea,  evermore  be  blest; 
O  thou  desponding  soul,  no  longer  grieve, 
For  more  than  thou  canst  hope,  thou  wilt  receive; 
Ne'er    doubt    though    seeming    discord    grates 

thine  ear, 

Though  disappointed  hope  brings  sorrow's  tear, 
Though  man  assail  his  brother  man  with  hate, 
And  wars  and  famine  seem  to  be  thy  fate; 
Wait  the  result:   these  scenes  are  but  a  part, 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  29 

Like  shadows  on   a  landscape  rich  with  art  ; 
All  move  in  concert  under   wise  control  ; 
No  part  is  evil  could  we  view  the  whole. 

Shall  we  illustrate  this  important  truth, 
And  introduce  a  country  while  in  youth? 
Then,  in  its  native  state,  a  prairie  view, 
Whose    waving    grass     the      plow    will     soon 

subdue ; 

Its  rolling  surface  far  exceeds  our  gaze, 
Where  herds  run  wild   and  wander  while   they 

graze : 

Where  unmolested  Nature  is  at  ease, 
And  flowers  amid  tall  grasses  kiss  the  breeze. 
The  nimble  deer  with  undiverted  bound, 
Fears  not  the  hunter,  or  the  hunter's  hound  ; 
The  prairie  wolf  his  bleeding  prey  devours, 
Howls    undisturbed    through    all     the    nightly 

hours ; 

The  busy  ant  her  humble  home  erects, 
From  heat  and  cold  it  shelters  and  protects. 


30  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

Contented  Nature  marks  her  yearly  rounds, 
No  hand  of  art  intrudes  upon  her  grounds. 

But    what     comes     here    (these     lower     tribes 

demand), 

That  brings  but  death  and  darkness  in  its  hand ! 
Usurps  the  rule,  upturns  the  living  sod, 
Entombs  fair  Nature's  face  beneath  the  clod? 
Blights  all  our  hopes,  destroys  our  floral  home, 
While  sure  destruction  is  our  fearful  doom ! 
A  fatal  scourge  to  every  living  thing, 
A  horrid  monster,  though  he  must  be  king! 

Thus   all   of  these  unite  with  solemn  vow, 

Against  the  quiet  farmer  with  his  plow ; 

The   grand    results    and    blessings    which    will 

blend, 

They  can  not  see,  much  less  can  comprehend. 
But  shining  grain  will  soon  the  farmer  greet, 
With  golden  corn  and  waving  fields  of  wheat ; 
The  humble  cot  will  mark  his  happy  home 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  31 

Upon  the  spot  where  howling  wolves  did  roam  ; 
The  village  bells  respond  from   hill   to   plain, 
And  join  in  chorus    to  the  distant   main. 
Thus  cities,  towns,  and  nations  will  have  sway, 
And    plant  their  footsteps  where    these    trihoa 

decay. 

This  is  established  law  by  wise   decree, 
And   countless  blessings  in  the  whole   we  see. 

Take    courage,    then,    O    man !     when    doubts 

arise, 

And  clouds  and  darkness  intercept  your  skies ; 
Be    not    like    thoughtless    tribes,    or    senseless 

minds, 
Who    know    no     God,    much     less    His    wise 

designs. 

Believe  that  from  the  blood  of  martyrs  slain, 
More  perfect  fruit  will  bless  the  earth  again; 
That   pain    and   evil  are   but  friends   disguised, 
That   tears   will   all   be  jewels   crystallized. 
Why   should    we    question   Him  who  ruleth  all) 


32  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

Presides  with  care  though  empires  rise  and  fall  ? 
As   cycles  move  successively  around, 
God's  love  and   wisdom   will  in   all  be  found. 
An  age  with  God  is  but  one  pendulum  stroke, 
"Which    worlds    and     systems    in    their    rounds 

provoke ; 

While  mortal  man,  with  feeble  fleeting  breath, 
Scarce  views  an  inch  of  time  before  his  death. 
In  vain  he  strives  to  learn  when  Time  began ; 
The  more  he  learns,  the  less  he  feels  a  man. 
Yet  ages  roll  their   centuries  behind, 
An   undisputed  record   of  God's  mind: 
Eternal  ages  but  His  plan  reveals, 
While  fleeting  time  all  but  a  glimpse  conceals; 
We  scarcely  reach  in  wisdom  letter  A, 
While  cumbered  witli  this  tenement  of  clay, 
Much  less  a  sentence  can  we  comprehend, 
Of  vast  eternity  that  hath  no  end  1 

Who  with  one  letter  can  decide  a  name, 
While  saint  and  sinner  each  begin  the  same? 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  33 

Or  with  a  sentence  never  understood. 
Who  will  presume  to  arbitrate  with  God  ? 
Yet  with  one  raj  of  feeble,  doubtful  light, 
Presumptuous  man  would  rule  the  Infinite ! 
But  coming  ages  will  to  all  unfold 
The  wisdom  that  no  mortal  tongue  hath  told. 
This  life  is  but  a  rudimental  sphere, 
We  barely  learn  our  ignorance  while  here; 
Yet  Hope  is  born  with  unattained  desires, 
And  to  immortal  life  each  soul  aspires. 
In  this  important  truth  all  tongues  agree, 
That  man  was  made  for  immortality. 
Death  kindly  comes  and  opens  wide  the  door. 
And  lights  our  passage  to  the  golden  shore ; 
Oblivion  spans  the  gulf  while  on  we  tread 
The  silent  pathway  of  the  living  dead. 
Then  let  earth  join  with  aspirations  high, 
Proclaim  this  glorious  truth — WE  NEVER  DIE  ! 
The  fields  of  thought  that  baffle  modern  lore, 
We  in  our  march  of  progress  will  explore; 
The  highest  aspirations  of  each  soul 


3-i  VOICE    OF  NATURE. 

Will  more  than  be  attained  as  ages  roll  ; 
The  stellar  worlds  of  beauty,  all  so  grand, 
Will  be  our  walks  of  pleasure  at  command. 
We'll  leave  behind  the  distant  orbs  of  light, 
Like  stepping-stones,  as  we  pursue  our  flight ; 
We'll  pat  the  Bear  and  Tiger  passing  up, 
And  use  the  Northern  Dipper  as  a  cup; 
Then  strike  the  trail  where  shining  comets  play, 
O'er  trackless  paths  along  the  Milky  Way. 
We  then  can  learn  of  God  among  the  spheres, 
And  feel  the  folly  of  our  early  years ; 
The  orient  fields  of  lucid  amber  light 
Will  cheer  us  on  and  on  amid  our  flight; 
New  beauties  in  concentric  circles  rise, 
Will  span  the  endless  arches  of  the  skies. 
Amid  these  rapturous  scenes  we'll  hie  to  earth, 
To    childhood's    home — the    land   that  gave   us 

birth. 

Our  friends  who  yet  remain  will  need  our  care, 
While  they  a  little  longer  linger  there ; 
We'll  prove  that  we  yet  live,  and  love  them  stiL, 


VOICE    OF  NATURE.  35 

And  though  unseen,  kind  offices  fulfill; 
Can  raise  -their  souls  from  earth  to  joys  above; 
Can  sweeten  daily  toil  with  peace  and  love ; 
Can  elevate  the  poor  desponding  soul, 
Who  from  surroundings  hath  no  self-control ; 
Can  visit  prisons,  where  our  brothers  dwell, 
And  cheer  the  lonely,  gloomy,  darkened  cell ; 
Dispel  the  tears  of  sorrow,  banish  pain, 
And  prove  to  man  that  he  will  live  again. 
Oh  yes!  we'll  come  the  human  race  to  cheer, 
Wherever  earth  is  watered  by  a  tear. 
The  mother  comes  to  bless  her  infant  boy, 
To  guard  the  tender  bud  with  holy  joy : 
Her  love  so  pure  on  earth  is  not  defiled, 
But  with  a  mother's  love,  she  loves  her  child. 
And  children  seized  by  Death's  relentless  hand 
Oft  gladly  mingle  in  the  broken  band. 
The  brittle  thread  of  life  can  not  divide, 
For  angel  friends  are  often  by  your  side; 
Thus  heaven  and  earth  are  joined  in  happy  twain, 
And  in  this  glorious  union  will  remain. 


36  VOWS   OF  NATURE. 

How  wise,  how  great,  how  wonderful  the  plan! 
A  boundless  iield  for  undeveloped  man ! 
God's  works  and  ways  we  ne'er  can   compre- 
hend, 

CBEATIOBT,  this  one  theme  may  never  end ; 
His  omnipresence,  love,  and  wise  control, 
Are  each  immortal  themes  for  every  soul. 
Then  let  all  nations  join  in  chorus  grand, 
Proclaim  the  tidings  far  o'er  sea  and  land ; 
Let  worlds  on  worlds  reiterate  the  song, 
That  God  our  Father  NEVEK  DOETH  WBONG  I 
As  He  alone  is  infinite  in  power, 
Desire  is  action,  now  and  evermore ; 
As  wisdom  shines  omnipotently  grand, 
'Tis    traced   through    all  4he  workings  of   B>  > 

hand: 

As  God  is  love,  all  things  are  lovely  too, 
And  rightly  seen,  His  love  in  all  we  view; 
While  Nature's  countless  voices  all  proclaim, 
Eternal  progress  is  the  end  and  aim. 


VOICE    OF   A   PEBBLE. 


PRELUDE. 


Throughout  the  realm  of  matter  and  of  mind, 
Variety  in  countless  forms  we  find  , 
Yet  all  creation  is  but  one  grand  thought, 
Which  God  in  love  and  wisdom  hath  outwtoughi  \ 
Hence  all  are  one,  to  God,  and  one  is  all ; 
Each  part  a  fragment  fitted  to  the  line, 
To  which  no  accident  can  e'er  befall, 
But  'n  God's  temple  will  forever  shine. 


VOICE    OF   A    PEBBLE. 


A   PEBBLE   in   my  Land   I   hold, 

From   yonder  limpid   brook, 
And   read   its  lessons   manifold, 

As  one   might  read   a  book. 

It  says,    Throughout  this   wondrous  sphere, 
Where'er  our  thoughts  may  bound, 

To   distant  worlds,  though   far  or  near, 
No  one  like   me  is  found. 

I  am   myself,   will  ever   be, 

And   can  not  be  another : 
My  sphere  is  fixed  eternally, 

And   Nature  is  my  brother. 

While  this  great   truth   relates  to  mo, 
A   part  is   only  told ; 


4:0  VOICE  OF  A    PEBBLE. 

For  every  thing  in   land  or  sea, 
Is  cast  in   diif'rent  mold. 

The  pebbles  round  the  ocean  deep, 
Which  every  wave  doth  wear, 

The  shining  leaves  the  seasons  keep, 
No  two  alike  are  there. 

Of  all  the  grains   composing  earth, 

And  vegetation  fair, 
All  forms  of  life  of  every   birth, 

In   water,   earth,  or   air, 

The  rule  holds  good,  no  two  are  found 
Whose  pattern  is  the  same ; 

And  could   we   trace  creation  round, 
We  would   this  truth  proclaim. 

The  forms  of  life  that  meet  the  eye, 

Wherever  we  may  gaze, 
With   varied   robes  from  Nature's  dye, 

In  every   form   and  phase, 


VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE.  41 

Are    but   the  outward  signs  that  mark 

Their  features  to  the  world, 
Their  nature  yet  is  in   the  dark, 

Their  motives  not  unfurled. 

Some  kick,  some  bite,  some  lick  your  hands, 
And  some  will  prance  and  play, 

Some  meekly  bow  at  your  commands, 
While  others  flee  away. 

Some  climb  the  trees,  some  bore  the  ground, 
Some  gnash  their  teeth  and   growl ; 

Some  only  through   the   day  are  found, 
All  night  some  whoop   and  howl. 

All   must  reveal  the  pent-up  fires 

Of  animated   force, 
Portraying  ever  God's  desires, 

From   which   there's  no   divorce. 

Thus  JEtaa  heaves  his  foaming  crest, 
And  belches  fire  and  smoke ; 


42  VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE. 

Expels  tlie  moaning  of  his  breast, 
The  obstacles  that  choke, 

And   gains  relief  and   acts  his  part, 
Like   waves  that  beat   the  shore ; 

Or  throbbings  in  the  lion's  heart, 
That  stimulate  his  roar. 

A.  chain   of  varied  links  we   see 

Wherever   God  is  found: 
If  two  alike  will   ever  be, 

Infinitude  is  bound. 

In  earth,  in  air,  in  sea,  or  space, 
Through  worlds  and  suns  that  roll, 

A  God  in  endless  forms  we  trace, 
Whose  wisdom  guides  the  whole. 

Jehovah  speaks  in  all  we  see, 
Whose  countless  tongues  rehearse 

Harmonious  strains  of  melody, 
Throughout  the  universe. 


VOICE    OF   A    PEBF.LE.  4.3 

All  Lave   tLeir  proper  spheres  to  fill, 

With  settled  rule  in  view; 
Each  must  perform  its  Maker'c  will, 

With  nothing  else  to  do. 

The   waters  from  the   distant  hill, 

Or  cascade  in   the  lawn, 
The   mighty   river   or  the  rill, 

All  to  the  ocean  borne, 

No  more  to  Nature's   path   incline, 

Or  follow   God's   decree, 
No  more  fulfill   His   wise   design, 

Than   every   thing  we  see. 

No  hand   can  injure  or  deface 

One   particle   or  grain; 
Each   occupies  and  fills  the  place. 

That   wisdom   did   ordain. 

As  well  assail  the  storms  that  blow, 
Or  proud  Niag'ra's   roar, 


44  VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE. 

Or  ocean   tides  that  come   and   go, 
Or  waves  that  lash  the  shore, 

Or  blazing   comets  in   their  flight, 
Or   worlds  that  roll   on  high, 

Or  dim  the  shining  orbs   of  light, 
Or  God  himself  defy ; 

For  all  obey  with  cheerful  zeal 
The  mandate  God  hath  given; 

And  each  alike  His  laws  reveal, 
Throughout  the  vault  of  heaven. 

All  worlds  have   their  appointed   spheres, 

Distinctively   their  own ; 
Their  length   of  days   and   rolling  years; 

Their  longitude  and   zone. 

Could  aught  suspend  these  potent  laws, 

This   equipoise   of  power, 
And   intercept  the  Great   First  Cause, 

But  for  a  single   hour; 


VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE.  4.5 

Should  but  one  star   impede    its   flight, 

Or  lose  its   time  and   place, 
Or  seek  another's   trail  of  light 

Throughout  the   realms  of  space, 

Death's  dark  convulsive  waves  would  lash, 

Creation's  boundless   shore, 
And  worlds   with   universal   crash 

Would  sink  to   rise  no   more. 

Thus  Nature,  with  united  voice, 

Proclaims  its  Maker's  praise; 
Though  laws  propel,  it  seems  of  choice, 

That  every  thing  obeys. 


If  then  whate'er  on  earth  appears, 
With  all  that  moves  above, 

Combine  like  music  of  the  spheres, 
To  prove  eternal  love, 

How  is  it  with  created  man, 
The  image  of  his  God, 


48  VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE. 

Wiio  though  his  life  is  but  a  span, 
Doth  rule  this  earthly  clod? 

His  form   is   comely   and  erect, 
With   features   fair   and  fine, 

No  sculptor   can   a   fault   detect, 
Or  criticise   a  line. 

His  noble  frame  out-rivals  art, 

By  ligaments   entwined  ; 
While  membranes,   muscles,    all  impart 

Their  form   and   strength  combined. 

His  life-blood  currents  ebb  and  flow, 

The  airy  tissues  greet, 
And  leave  their  burden  to  and  fro 

At  each  successive  beat. 

The  brain,  with   all  its  countless  nerves, 
On    guard    by    night   and   day — 

With   constant  vigilance   observes, 
"Reports  without  delay. 


VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE.  47 

The   eye,    the   window   of  the   soul, 
On  earth  and  heaven  doth  gaze, 

The  ear  sweet  melodies  control, 

And  tongue  that  speaks  God's  praise. 

The   countless   wonders   of  this   frame, 

(A  portion    only   told, 
Ten   thousand   parts,   no   two  the   same,) 
Their  uses  do  unfold. 

But   each   adapted  to  its  place, 

In   harmony  all   blend, 
A   perfect   union   here   we   trace; 

The  parts   do  not   contend : 

For   all  unite  with   one   accord, 

To  form  and  fashion  man — 
The  image  of  his  maker,  Lrrd, 

In  wisdom  of  His  plan. 

Yet  no  two  men  alike  are  found, 
In  body  or  in  mind, 


VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE. 

And  those  who  view  the  world  around, 
This  truth  will  ever  find. 

For  each  sustains  a  separate  part, 

To   an  important   whole ; 
Each  fills  his  place   and   does  impart 

The  motives  of  his  soul. 

Each  has   a  mission  of  his  own, 

Adapted  to  his  skill, 
To  be  sustained  bj  him  alone; 

Which  no  one  else  can  fill. 

No  two  alike   are  wise   and  great, 

No  two  alike  can  see, 
And   those  who   would  but  imitate, 

Make  war  on  God's  decree. 

Variety  marks  every  deed, 

And  modifies  the  whole, 
Imparts  to  each  an  honest  creed, 

Adapted  to  the  soul. 


VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE. 

Gives  occupation   to  the  mind, 
On  every  plane    of  thought; 
Each  in  his  sphere  will  pleasure  find, 
.  There  only  should   be  sought. 

Some  love  to  plow  the  trackless  seas, 

Some  in  the  workshop  toil, 
Some  fain  would  fly  against  the  breeze, 

While  others  till  the  soil. 

Some  love  to  delve  in  musty  lore, 
Some  live  by  what  they  say, 

While  others  would  the  world  explore, 
And  gladly  lead  the  way. 

And  though  ten  thousand  may  pursue 

The  self-same  occupation, 
No  two  alike  the  same  will  do 

In  any  land  or  nation. 

But  each  adapted  to  his  place, 
The  world  moves  gladly  OD  ; 


50  VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE. 

Each  for  himself,  yet  by  the  race 
Is  ever  moved  upon. 

Each  is  a  unit,  though  a  link 

In  an  unending  chain, 
Tet  for  himself  should  ever  think, 

And  selfhood  thus  maintain. 

To  each  a  birthright  is  decreed, 
That  shapes  our  aim  and  end, 

Secured  and  vested  in  a  deed, 
That  all  should  well  defend. 

Oh,  then  retain  thy  rightful  sway 
Of  that  which  is   thine  own ; 

Remember  Esau  gave  away 
His  birthright  for  a  bone. 

A  creed  is  written  on  each  breast, 

That  God  will  justify; 
Let  each  maintain    his  high  behest, 

Though  all  the  world  decry. 


VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE.  $ 

When  priests  and  parsons  crowd  your  path, 

With  hell  beset  your  way, 
And  preach  that  God  is  full  of  wrath, 

Because  you're  not  as  they, 

They  little  think  that  God  hath  made 

Unlike  ten  thousand  flowers, 
And  giveth  each  the  snn  and  shade, 

And  genial,  gentle  showers; 

Each  flower  ordained  itself  to  be, 

None  other  to  desire, 
A  type  of  nature's  harmony, 

That  angels  must  admire. 

Should  roses  in  their  rich  attire, 

More  humble  flowers  disdain  ? 
Or  in  a  warlike  mood  require 

All  other  rivals  slain  ? 

Should  creeping  vines  that  hug  the  eartb, 
Assail  the  morning  glory, 


52  VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE. 

Because  of  their  more  lowly  birtli, 
Who  could  believe  the  story  ? 

Each  hath  its  mission  everywhere, 

And  all  obey  God's  will, 
By   being  most  of  what   they  are, 

And   thus   their   end   fulfill. 

Then  let   each  soul    with   all   its   powers, 

Forever  seek   to   be 
As   perfect  in   itself  as    flowers, 

Type   of  Divinity. 

And  as  our  feeble  minds  unfold, 

We  children  of  the  sod, 
In  every  object  may  behold 

The  alphabet  of  God. 

Then  let  us  deal  with  charity, 

Be  hopeful,  not  bewail, 
Kach  glimpse  of  truth  a  rarity, 

Will  finally  prevail. 


VOICE    OF  A    PEBBLE.  53 

For  who  can  doubt  that  motives  good, 

May  govern  every  mind  ? 
For  it  is  plainly  understood, 

That   God  to  all  is    kind. 

All  in  their  sphere  fulfill  their  task, 

As  roars  volcanic  fire; 
The  good  to  follow  will  unmask, 

When  evil  deeds  expire. 

All  then  fulfill  a  wise  design, 
Though  devious  seems  the  way  j 

While  all  in  harmony  combine, 
And  each  and  all  obey. 

With  God  thy  Father,  man  thy  brother, 

Oh,  be  thyself  a  man, 
Each  for  himself,  yet  for  each  other, 

Is  Heav'ns  eternal  plan. 


VOICE   OF   SUPERSTITION 


PRELUDE. 


Who  can  telieve  that  God  hath  ever  changed, 

Or  that  His  holy  plans  have  been  deranged  ? 

Yet  creeds  have  so  dethroned  our  common  sense — 

Our  just  conceptions  of  Omnipotence— 

So  slandered  reason  and  God's  light  within, 

To  doubt  that  God  repents,  is  wilful  sin ! 

Within  the  Bible,  much  I  love,  and  bless, 

I  might  love  more,  if  God  I  could  love  less; 

But  when  I  read  that  God's  great  plans  have  failed- 

That  He  repents  whea  Satan's  power  prevailed — 

That  Satan  ruled  from  Eden  to  the  cross, 

Though  finding  gold,  all  this  is  empty  dross  1 

O  man,  be  just,  be  true  to  reason's  light, 

Defend  and  cheiish  all  that  seemeth  right, 

No  longer  bow  to  priest's  delusive  nod, 

But  vindicate  the  attributes  of  God. 


VOICE    OF    SUPERSTITION. 


IT  hath  been  said,  in  ages  long  since  gone, 
When  Time  was  young,  or  in  its  early  dawn, 
That  from  chaotic  matter  God  designed 
This  little  world,  to  represent  His  mind. 
But  as  all  Nature  was  an  endless  night,1 
His  first  commandment  was  "  Let  there  be  light !  ' 
When,  from  eternal  darkness  light  was  born, 
Which  ushered  in  the  grand  primeval  morn. 
Thus  darkness  fled  before  the  verge  of  day, 
And  hid  itself  beyond  the  shady  way. 
The  waters  next  divided  from  the  land, 
While  vegetation  came  at  His  command. 
When    fragrant   flowers    and   fruitful    trees    un 

furled, 
The  Lord  was  pleased  that  He  had  made  a  world, 

1  Gen.  i.  3. 
3* 


58  VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Three  days  and  nights  disclosed  their  light  and 

shade,1 

Before  the  sun,  or  moon,  or  stars  were  made  ! 
Upon  the  fourth,  the  golden  sun  was  bom,2 
To  rule  the  day  and  gild  the  early  morn  ; 
The  moon  and  stars  to  shed  their  silver  light, 
And  cheer  the  silent  hours  of  tranquil  night. 
At  length,  all  forms  of  life  in  wondrous  train, 
And  man,  the  monarch  of  the  land  and  main, 
'Mid  Eden's  flowers  and  fruits  in  beauty  stood, 
While  God,  delighted,  said  that  all  was  good.3 
Thus  heaven  and  earth  reveal   His  works    and 

ways, 
And  &how  a  work  completed  in  six  days. 

And  while  He  sought  refreshing  slumber  sweet, 
Amid  the  arches  of  His  grand  retreat, 
He  little  dreamed  that  other  powers  would  rise, 
That  seraphs  who  inhabited  the  skies, 

1  Gen.  L  13.— *  i  14-18.— 'i  20-31-    ii.  2. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION.  59 

Would  envy  Him  His  power  and  glorious  plan, 
And  wage  a  warfare  and  bewilder  man. 
Yet  sad  to  tell,  the  angel  host  rebelled, 
And  in  the  contest  were  from  heaven  expelled. 
Tims  dawned  the  days  of  darkness,  death,  and 

evil, 

And  introduced  the  serpent  called  the  devil,1 
Who,  now  on  hostile  terms  with  God  of  all, 
"With  fell  intent  resolved  that  man  should  fall, 
At  once  proceeds  to  Eden's  calm  retreat, 
With  plans  matured,  God's  purpose  to  defeat ; 
In  serpent  form  upon  his  tail  he  walked, 
With  forked  tongue  he  eloquently  talked, 
An  1  thus  addressed  the  happy  EDEN  pair : — 
''•Why  not  partake  of  every  tree  so  fair?" 
"We  will,  save  one,  but  that  we  must  deny, 
God  said,  'the  day  ye  eat  thereof. ye  die.'"3 

"Ye  shall  not  die!     I  pray  you  have  no  feai  , 
You'll  see  with  open  eyes  and  vision  clear, 

1  Rev.  xiL  7,  8,  9.—*  G«n.  ii.  17. 


(JO  VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION. 

And  be  like  gods,  well  knowing  good  and  evil. 
God    knows    'tis    true,    though    spoken    by    thcj 
devil."1 

He  gave  the  fruit  to  Eve-  while  thus  he  spake, 
Who  acquiescing  gladly  did  partake : 
And  willing  with  her  husband  to  divide, 
Persuaded  him  to  share  it  with  his  bride. 

Thus  dowered  with  visions  of  immortal  youth, 
They  found  that  Satan  had  but  uttered  truth." 

God  being  rested  by  His  late  repose,8 
At  cool  of  day  into  the  garden  goes ; 
And  not  perceiving  them,  His  charming  pair, 
His  voice  "walked"  forth  upon  the  balmy  air, 
And  circled  round  among  fair  Eden's  bowers, 
'Till  died  its  echoes  'mid  the  fragrant  flowers, 
la  search  of  Adam,  whom  He  did  not  see, 
Because  he  hid  from  God  behind  a  tree;' 

1  Gen.iii.  4,  5,  22.—"  Gen.  iii.  7.— '  Ex.  xxxi.  17.— 4  Gen.  iii.  8,  9 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION.  gj 

But  when  espied,  the  truth  did  not  conceal, 
For  frankly  did  they  each  the  fact  reveal. 

"When  God  had  learned  what  Satan  had  been 
doing — 

That  Eve  and  Adam,  knowledge  were  pursu- 
ing, 

Incensed  on  them  his  fearful  wrath  he  hurled. 

And  for  their  disobedience,  cursed  the  world ; 
Condemned  His  holy  pair,  proclaimed  their  fall — 
A.nd  thus  pronounced  his  sentence  upon  all: 

Now  Satan  (being  on  the  docket  first), 
"  Above  all  beasts  and  cattle  art  thou  cursed, 
Upon  thy  belly  shalt  thou  wend  thy  ways, 
And  live  on  dust  the  remnant  of  thy  days  : 
Hate  for  thy  seed,  the  woman's  seed  shall  feel, 
And    bruise    thy    head,    and    thou    shalt    bruise 
his  heel;1 

1  Gen.  iii.  li,  16. 


62  VOICE  of  SUPERSTITION: 

And  thou,  O  woman !    for  this  wicked  deed, 
In  pain  and  sorrow  multiply  thy  seed ; 
And  to  thy  husband  thy  desire  shall  be, 
Submissive  thou,  he  shall  rule  over  thee.1 

Now  Adam,  as  it  was  thy  wicked  choice, 
To  listen  to  the  tones  of  woman's  voice, 
And  didst  with  her  forbidden  fruit  partake, 
The  earth  is  ever  cursed  for  thy  sake ; 
In  sweat  and  sorrow  eat  thy  daily  bread, 
With  thorns  and  thistles  in  thy  path  to  tread." ' 

Thus    were    they    banished    from    their    Eden 

home, 

With  Satan  in  a  barren  world  to  roam ; 
And  lost    the    title  to  their  first  estate; 
God  set  the  trap,  and  well  arranged  the  bait, 
That  Satan  might  prevail  and  seal  the  fate 
Of  all  the  race  of  man  for  what  they  ate ; 

1  Oen.  iii.  16.— "Hi.  17,  18,  19. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION.  63 

Because  they  had  a  thirst  for  truth  and  knowledge, 
And  had  no  other  chance  to  go  to  college: 
Thus  like  the  gods,  they  learned  the  good  and  evil,1 
But  for  this   knowledge   they  might  thank  the 
devil. 

And  now  from  their  approach  to  guard  the  tree, 
Whose  fruit  to  taste  is  immortality, 
A  sword  of  flame,  still  turning  every  way, 
Flashes  from  hand  cherubic,  night  and  day.3 

INTKRLUD& 

(If  God  designed  that  man  should  not  rebel, 

Not  eat  forbidden  fruit  and  go  to  hell, 

Why  did  He  not  defend  the  fatal  tree, 

And  thus  protect  the  race  eternally  ? 

But  no !    the  record  hath  most  plainly  told, 

The  fruit  was  good,  and  pleasant  to  behold ; 

The  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise, 

With  Satan  left  to  counsel  and  advise. 

With  access  free  from  every  side  around, 

Within  their  reach  the  charming  fruit  was  found; 

1  Gen.  iiL  22.—'  iii.  22,  23,  24. 


64:  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Its  fragrant  odor  mingled  with  their  breath, 

While  all  conspired  to  urge  them  on  to  death. 

Oh,  why  was  man  in  this  dread  hour  neglected, 

And  left  alone  with  Satan,  unprotected  ? 

To  bring  a  damning  curse  upon  his  head, 

And  sound  the  awful  dirge — THE  RACE  is  DEAD  ! 

Or  did  God  choose  that  Adam  and  his  wife, 

Should  eat  of  this,  but  not  the  tree  of  life? 

The  record  this  opinion  justifies, 

And  only  he  who  blindly  reads,  denies ; 

For  all  conspired  with  charming  fruit  so  sweet, 

To  urge  them  to  the  fatal  tree  and  eat; 

While  flaming  swords  repelled  the  fated  pair, 

Forever  from  the  tree  of  life  so  fair.) 

Yet  Adam  knew,  and  fondly  loved  his  wife,1 
But  now  begins  their  sad  career  of  life. 
Eve  bore  a  son,  named  Cain,  to  till  the  ground, 
And  Abel  next,  who  did  in  flocks  abound ; 
Their  wants  by  daily  toil  were  well  supplied, 
Had  all  they  needed,  yea,  and  more  beside; 
From  which  they  made  their  offerings  to  the  Lord 
The  choicest  products  which  they  could  afford. 

1  Gen.  iv.  1,  2. 
3* 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTI1ION.  (55 

God  only  pleased  with  Abel's,  strange  to  tell;1 
Filled  Cain  with  anger  and  his  features  fell. 
God  thus  respecting  one,  and  not  the  other, 
A  quarrel  rose,  in  which  Cain  slew  his  brother ; 
For  this  offense  the  Lord  in  vengeance  raved, 
And  cursed  His  child  that  kindness  might  hav« 
saved 

Cain  now  forsook  his  farm  and  fled  from  God,' 

Eastward  of  Eden,  in  the  land  of  Nod. 

While  thus  remote  from  God  in  foreign  land, 

Who  there  should  greet  him.,  and  extend  her 
hand, 

But  charming  woman,  in  his  state  forlorn, 

Before  a  daughter  ever  had  leen  lorn. 

While  cursed  of  God,  and  doomed  to  separa- 
tion, 

He  then  to  woman  looked  for  consolation ; 

She  bore  and  blessed  him  with  a  charming  son ; 

And  now  the  race  of  Cain  was  well  begun. 

1  Gen.  iv.  4,  5,  11.— "  iv.  16 


66  VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Cain  built  a  city,  Enoch  was  its  name,1 
His  eldest  son  was  also  called  the  same. 
And  now  it  came  to  pass  upon  the  earth,2 
That  sons  and  daughters  were  of  frequent  birth, 
That  generations  then  were  multiplied, 
And  in  their  growing  strength  the  Lord  defied. 
While  God  beheld  the  wickedness  of  earth, 
That  evil  only  followed  every  birth, 
Grieved  to  His  heart,  repented  making  man,8 
Because  the  devil  foiled  Him  in  His  plan. 
This  unforeseen  defeat,  and  sad  condition, 
In  its  reaction  roused  the  Lord's  ambition, 
"Who   now  resolved  that  man  and  beast  should 

die, 
With  creeping  things,  and  birds  that  cleave  the 

sky, 

For  "it  repented  Him  He  made  them  all," 
And  every  tribe  of  life  alike  must  fall,* 
Excepting  only  those  the  ark  up  bore, 
And  righteous  family  of  good  old  Noah, 

1  Gen.  iv.  17.— »  vi.  I.—1  vi.  5,  6.— «  vt  7. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  67 

Who  built  the  ark  tempestuous  seas  to  ride, 
In  which  he  took  all  flesh  and  food  beside. 


INTERLUDE. 

(The  folly  of  this  story  is  quite  clear, 

As  all  these  tribes  were  fed  at  least  a  year, 

Within  a  space  not  half  their  cubic  feet, 

While  most  of  them  ten  times  their  bulk  would  eat.) 

Now  came  the  mighty  flood  with  waters  deep, 
Its  rolling  waves  o'er  mountain  tops  did  sweep ; 
Nor   cries   for   help,  nor   prayers    that   Heaven 

assail 

With  earnest  pleas  for  mercy,  could  avail; 
No  hill  was  left  to  echo,  nor  to  save 
The  dying  victims  from  a  watery  grave; 
All   topmost   peaks   were   sought,   yet   seen   no 

more, 

A  boundless  ocean  raged  without  a  shore; 
All  life  was  hushed  on  earth  God  made  so  fair, 
The  mournful  billows  sighed  in  sadness  there, 


gg  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

And    howling    tempests    rocked    the    world    to 

sleep, 

Amid  the  surges  of  the  rolling  deep, 
And   closed   a  world-wide  grave    with  none  to 

weep.1 

INTERLUDE. 


(Hard  to  relate,  yet  harder  understood, 

Why  all  was  evil,  God  created  good; 

Why  such  a  fate  should  now  befall  mankind, 

When  all  for  good  their  Maker  had  designed ; 

That  evil  uncreated  should  prevail, 

And  with  success  the  powers  of  truth   assail ; 

That  God's  great  plan  should  now  forever  fall, 

And  hell  with  death  and  devils  get  us  all; 

That  Satan  and  his  host  alone  should  live, 

Yet  run  at  large  permitted  to  deceive. 

If  Satan  caused  all  evil  to  prevail, 

Why  did  not  God  the  cause  at  once  assail  ? 

What  lasting  good  can  auy  one  expect, 

While  cause  remains,  by  punishing  effect? 

Be  as  it  may,  the  devil  gained  his  plan, 

God  made  his   title  good  by  drowning  man 

1  Gen.  vi.  &  vii 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  Qt) 

Thus  Nature  wept  in  sadness  o'er  the  tomb, 
That  draped  the  earth  in  universal  gloom. 
One  righteous  family  alone  reserved, 
With  this  the  race  of  man  must  be  preserved ; 
Which  being  just,  the  right  would  only  do, 
Like  as  at  first,  God  now  begins  anew.) 

The   waters    on    the    earth    twelve    months    re- 
mained, 
But    where    they    went,    this    knowledge    none 

have  gained. 

We  only  learn  the  waters  were  abated, 
For  this  is  all  that  Moses  has  related; 
The  vessel  rested  on  a  mountain  side, 
And  in  due  time  the  face  of  Nature  dried  ; 
Then  God  to  Noah  in  his  ark  thus  spake, 
"  Go  forth,  and  with  thee  every  creature  take." 
Noah  obeyed,  and  then  an  altar  built, 
WTiere  blood  of  all  clean  beasts  and  fowls  waa 

spilt, 

And  on  the  altar  rose  their  burning  flavor, 
Which  to  the  Lord  was  a  sweet  smelling  savor.1 

1  Gen.  viii. 


70  VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Pleased    with    Noah,    the     Lord     in    kindness 

spake : 

"  The  ground  no  more  is  cursed  for  thy  sake ; 
As  I  have  done  I  will  not  do  again ; 
While  earth  exists  its  beauty  shall  remain; 
Seed  time  and  harvest,  cold  and  heat  not  cease ; 
Receive  my  blessing,  and  your  race  increase; 
My  everlasting  covenant  is  sealed, 
And  token  of  remembrance  is  revealed, 
My  bow  within  the  clouds  the  earth  will  span, 
That  I  may  not  forget  my  pledge  to  man." ' 

This  righteous  man  began  to  till  the  soil, 
A  fruitful  vineyard  blessed  his  early  toil; 
Its  juice  was  sweet,  and  pleasant  to  his  taste, 
Of  which  he  freely  drank  with  too  much  haste ; 
So  freely  he  imbibed  until  at  length, 
He  fell  deprived  of  reason  and  of  strength. 

Thus  fell  the  second  Adam,  like  the  first, 

1  Gten.  it  9-17. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION.  71 

Let   him   who   reads  be  judge  which    was    the 

worst. 

But  this  you  will  perceive,  without  much  think- 
ing, 

The  first  by  eating  fell,  the  last  by  drinking! 
The  first  at  once  his  nakedness  concealed, 
While  Noah's  shame  was  ruefully  revealed, 
"Who    cursed     his     grandson    while    a    verdan* 

youth, 

Because  his  father  saw  the  naked  truth ; l 
And  he  of  all  the  earth  God  chose  to  save, 
Was  now  prepared  to  fill  a  drunkard's  grave. 
Thus  far  the  devil  every  time  succeeded, 
At  least  in  getting  all  the  Lord  most  needed 

INTERLUDE. 

(We  would  not  notice  this  disgusting  tale. 
Did  not  believers  of  its  truth  prevail ; 
Whose  many  sects  are  scattered  far  and  wide 
Through  every  land  across  the  ocean  tide. 

1  Gen.  U  20-25. 


72  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

To  every  tongue  these  errors  would  be  sent, 
And  for  this  purpose  gold  is  freely  spent, 
To  shackle  reason,  and  debase  the  soul, 
By  loving  God  whom  Satan    does  control. 
And  men  who  seem  quite  honest  and  sincere, 
Yet  preach  these  errors  and  this  God  revere ; 
Disrobe  the  great  First  Cause,  all  just  and  wise, 
And  make  a  God  that  Reason  must   despise, 
Possessing  all  the  lower  traits  of  man, 
Without  the  power  to  execute  His  plan ; 
A  tripartition  Godhead  all  in  one, 
Where  Father  is  not  older  than  his  Son. 
That  Father,  Son,  and  yet  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Are  three,  yet  one,  who  rule  the  heavenly  hostj 
To  combat  sin,  and  extricate  mankind, 
And  yet  with  Satan  most  are  left  behind. 
Ob,  would  that  it  were  true  that  this  was  all, 
That  only  man  corrupted  had  a  fall  ! 
But  oh,  how  sad,  while  we  the  page  pursue 
(Yet  doubly  sad  to  those  who  think  it  true), 
That  God  is  made  to  foster  sin  and  shame, 
And  be  the  willing  author  of  the  same.' 
Eead,  pause,  and  ponder  on  the  subject  well, 
All  preconceived  ideas  at  once  expel, 
Receive  with  candor  that  which  seemeth  right, 
And  thus  reject  all  evil  with  delight; 
1  Isaiah  ilv.  1.  ;  Rom.  ix.  18. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  73 

While  thus  untrammeled  and  with  heart  sincere, 
Let  judgment  dictate  and  you  need  not  fear. 

You  now  can  say  that  God  is  good  and  wise ; 
Sustains  and  rules  all  worlds  within  the  skies  • 
Created  man  a  noble  end  to  fill ; 
That  worlds  and  man  reflect  His  holy  will ; 
That  every  thing  on  earth,  in  sea,  or  air, 
Alike  are  objects  of  His  tender  care; 
That  nothing  made  was  ever  made  in  vain, 
And  all  that  is,  His  wisdom  did  ordain ; 
That  one  stupendous  plan  pervades  the  whole; 
That  God  is  love,  and  has  supreme  control — 
Our  Heavenly  Father  whom  we  should  not  fear, 
A  God  whom  men  and  angels  must  revere. 

But  we  will  find,  as  we  peruse  the  page, 

The  God  portrayed  is  oft  a  God  of  rage,1 

That  He  doth  govern  as  frail  men  entreat,9 

And  what  He  wills  some  other  powers  defeat,3 

That  He   with  willing  hands   brings  death  and  pain, 

Whose    vengeance   feeds  and  feasts  upon  the  slain ;  * 

That  when  a  battle  raged,  to  suit  His  will, 

He    made   the  orbs  of  day   and  night  stand   still; 

1  Heb.  iii.  11.— "Ex.  xxxii.  1-14  ;  John  xi.  22.— "Ezek.  xxxiii, 
II.—4  Ex.  xii.  29. 
4 


f4.  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

Thus  to  protract  the  bloody  scene  at  night, 
He   gladly   volunteers  to  hold  the  light; 
And  intercepts  revolving  worlds   on    high, 
That  He  may  see  His  children   fight  and   die! 

And  when  He  heard  the  cry,   or  wail  of  sorrow, 
Come  up  to  Him   from   Sodom   and   Gomorrah, 
Could  not  conjecture  what  it  was   about, 
As  His  remote  location   made  Him  doubt. 
(To  Sodom  and  Gomorrah   I   will  go, 
And   when   I  learn  what  they  have  done,   I'll  know  ; 
Thus  saith  the  page,  as  all   can  see  and  read  ;* 
But   light  and  truth   these   sayings   will  not  heed.) 
With  what  He  heard,   not  being  well  delighted, 
Came  down  to  see,  He  being  quite  near-sighted  ; 
Thus  saw,  and  learned  what  He  knew  not  before, 
Which  to  His  knowledge  added  one  thing  more. 
Who  can  revere  and  love  a  God  like  this, 
And  trust  their  souls  with  Him  for  happiness? 
'Tis  not  the  God  who  everywhere  resides, 
And  with  omniscience  over  all  presides, 
Whose  life  pervades  all  Nature  everywhere ; 
Whose  love  and  wisdom  all  His  creatures  share ; 
Who  over  Nature  holds  eternal  sway, 
And  worlds  and  suns  revolve  while  thej  obey; 

'Gen.  xviii.  20,  21. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  75 

Who  lives  in  matter  gross,  and  most  refined, 
Controls  the  whole,  and  fashions  every  mind.) 

But   to  proceed   (yet   please   excuse   digression, 
When   thoughts   intrude   and    urge   a  brief  ex- 
pression). 

Next   Abraham   was   chosen   to  express, 
Jehovah's  holy   will   and  righteousness, 
That   every  people  should   confess  His  sway, 
And  gladly  learn  His  precepts  to  obey.1 

But  how  could  God  to  lofty  hopes  aspire, 
While  now  His  chosen  leader  was  a  liar?2 
And  by  this  deed,  was  made  an  heir  of  hell, 
Where  liars  all  eternally  must  dwell  ? 3 
Thus  forced  from  Satan  to  procure  His   seed, 
His  hope  for  righteous  fruit  was  poor  indeed, 
And  yet  the  Lord,  by  his  intrusive  will, 
Revoked  what  He  intended  to  fulfill ; 
And  as  the  record  stands  we  must  conclude 
That  Abraham  had  reason  to  intrude; 

1  Gen.  xxii. — *  xii. — 3  Rev.  xxi  8. 


76  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Behold  when  threatening  storms  of  fearful  rage 
Reflect  God's  purpose  on  the  sacred  page, 
The    patriarch    plead    with  mingled    pain    and 

sorrow, 

That  He  would  spare  old  Sodom  and  Gomorrah ; 
Again,  and  yet  again,  he  urged  their  cause, 
Entreating  Him  to  modify  His  laws; 
Impelled  by  love,  while  hope  inspired  his  soul, 
He  plead  with  God,  His  anger  to  control; 
With  "  peradventure"  molding  every  strain, 
Without  this  pond'rous  word  all  hope  was  vain 
Of  safety  for  the  cities  of  the  plain. 
And   thus  he  prayed,  that  wives  and  daughters 

fair 
Might    not    with    wicked    men    His    vengeance 

share. 

God,  being  moved  with  his  benignant  plea, 
Was  half  inclined  with  Abra'm  to  agree ; 
At  once  proposed  to  compromise  His  plan, 
Change  His  design  and  pity  fallen  man ; 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  77 

And  said,  "  If  fifty  righteous  men  are  found, 
I'll  spare  the  cities  and  the  laud  around."1 
But  "  peradventure"  ringing  in  His  ear, 
His  love  awakened  for  His  children  dear, 
He  now  would  save  them  all  for  forty-five,9 
Protect  their  homes,  and  families  alive. 
For  forty,  then  for  thirty  did  he  plead,3 
Until  the  Lord  again  with  him  agreed ; 
With  "  peradventure"  next  he  plead  for  twenty, 
And  God  at  once  agreed  that  that  was  plenty.4 
"  Oh,  don't  be  angry,  Lord !  do  save  for  ten, 
'Tis  my  last  plea:"  to  which  God  said,  Amen!" 
TBut  as  the  righteous  ten  could  not  be  found, 
Destruction  came  and  circled  them  around. 

INTERLUDE. 

(Oh,  why  did  Abrara  cease  their  cause  to  plead, 
When  God  with  him  so  willingly  agreed  ? 
One  "peradventure"  more  had  quenched  the  fires, 
One  righteous  man  had  answered  His  desires. 

'Gen.    xviii.  2-1.— "  xviii.    28.— 3  xviii.  29,  30.--4  xviii    3L  ~ 
32. 


78  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

But  sad  the  fate  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 

A  fiery  deluge  filled  the  laud  with  sorrow ; 

God's  flaming  vengeance  thirsting  for  the  slaughter, 

Rained  showers  of  fire  from  heaven,  instead  of  water 

Through  all  the  air  the  burning  brimstone  whirled, 

The   elements  of  Hell  from  Heaven  were  hurled — 

From  the  pure  Heaven — God's  holy  habitation — 

Where  angels  bow  with  humble  adoration — 

Ev'n    there  the  fierceness  of  His  anger  swells, 

And  hate  pervades  the  home  in  which   He  dwells; 

For  fire  and  brimstone  there  are  made,  or  stored, 

To  be  in  vengeance  on  His  creatures  poured  : 

Men,  women,  children,  doomed  by  heavenly  fire, 

Amid  these  burning  cities  to  expire, 

Where  smoking  embers  mingled  with  the  dead, 

And  all  were  burned  except  a  few  who  fled. 

Lot's  wife  amazed,  while  in  her  rapid  flight 

Looked  back  in  pity  on  the  awful  sight, 

Which  of  itself  would  seem  to  be  no  fault, 

Yet  was  condemned,  and  turned  at  once   to  salt.)1 

When  golden  morn  dissolved  the  silv'ry  stars, 
And  dimmed  the  polished  face  of  genial  Mars, 
Before  the  Sun  had  kissed  the  s:noky  air 

1  Gen.  zix.  24-26. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  79 

That  draped  in  mourning  ruins  once  so  fair,1 
Then  Abraham  arose,  the  Lord  he  found, 
Before    Him    stood,  and    viewed    the    smoking 

»  o 

ground, 
Where   fire    and    brimstone  mingled  with  their 

breath, 

Amid  the  last  expiring  groans  of  death ; 
While    good  old    Lot  with  his  two   daughters 

fair—1 

The  last  fond  trio  worthy  of  God's  care — 
His  hopeful   seed    from   which  He  fain   would 

raise 

"A  mighty  people  to  proclaim  His  praise, 
Were  so  affrighted  by  the  fiery  wave, 
That  buried  cities  in  a  molten  grave, 
They  sought  a  mountain  cave  in  land  of  Zoar, 
That    fire     and     brimstone    might     disturb    no 

more. 

There  lived  this  chosen — only  righteous  three 
In  undisturbed  repose  and  harmony. 

1  Gen.  xii.  27,  28.— s  xix.  30 


g0  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

Though    Lot's  fond   wife   at   first   was    not  re- 
jected, 

Yet  for  one  look  of  pity,  unsuspected, 
"Was  turned  from  flesh  and  blood  to  rigid  salt, 
And  stood  like  polished  marble  by  a  vault! 
But    shame    and     sorrow    must    pervade    each 

breast, 

For  daughters  thus  who  were  by  angels  blest, 
Who  could  commit  so  base,  so  dark  a  crime, 
And  cast  their  shadows  on  the  sands  of  time. 
My  modest  pen  and  ink  are  T)oth  agreed, 
That  if  the  details  you  should  choose  to  read, 
Please  take  the  record  which  is  not   denied, 
Peruse  and  ponder  until  satisfied.1 
But  sadly  strange  that  every  pious  soul, 
That  God  designed  for  His  supreme  control, 
Should  yet  defy  His  power  and  holy  will — 
That  Satan  thus  should  hold  dominion  still  1 
But  all  the  sins  that  darken  every  fall, 
This  last  surpasses,  and  disgraces  all ! 

1  Gcu.  xii.  31-38. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  qj 

These  vain  attempts  to  rescue  man  from  hell, 
And  fit  him  in  a  better  place  to  dwell, 
To  stay  the  surging  waves  of  death  and  sin, 
Tc  bar  the  gate,  and  keep  the  Devil  in, 
Induced  the  Lord  to  compromise  and  yield, 
To  cease  the  contest,  and  give  up  the  field; 
To  give  His  children  to  the  fiend  of  Hell, 
And  earth  for  his  abode,  with  them  to  dwell ; 
Securing  only  one,  one  only  blest, 
And  make  no  further  effort  for  the  rest ; 
But  give  to  this  supreme  and  constant  care; 
This  one  alone,  should  all  His  blessings  share, 
-His  seed  receive  protection  everywhere;1 
While  Satan,  with  his  many  thousand  strong, 
With  victors'  palms,  cheered  with  triumphant  song, 
Retained  the  conquest  of  his  captured  throng. 

Thus   Abraham  was  now  God's  only  seed, 
To  bear  the  ensign  and  maintain  His  creed ; 
Yet  should  his  blood  all  unborn  nations  know, 


1  Gen.  xxii.  15-18. 

4* 


82  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

And  God  would  on  them  holy  love  bestow; 
Not  all  the  sands  on  shores  of  every  sea, 
Whose  numbers  almost  reach  infinity, 
Or  countless  stars  that  swim  in  endless  space, 
Can  swell  the  numbers  of  this  chosen  race : 
Thus  with    high    hopes    the    future    now   waa 

planned, 

With  poor  old  Abraham  at  His  command ! 
While  Satan,  ready  with  his  mighty  throng, 
To  wage  another  war,  when  foes  were  strong ; 
Yea,  eager  for  the  combat  soon  or  late, 
When  foes  for  battle  fierce  might  generate. 

While  thus  out-numbered  and  each  effort  lost, 
Upon   the   waves  of    doubt   God's    hopes  were 

tossed, 

Despondent  shadows  veiled  the  vacant  earth 
When  lol  two  nations  born  at  single  birth:1 
To  raise  a  people,  God  with  zeal  begins, 

1  Gen.  xxv.  23. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  83 

For  who    before,  or  since,   hath    matched    these 
twins ! 

Thus  barren  Rebekah 

"Within  their  pavilions, 
Should  be  the  fond  mother 
Of  thousands  of  millions.1 

Man's  days  now  brief,  cut  short  his  stay, 
While  generations  past  away 
From  Abraham  to  Isaac's  race, 
Next  Jacob  followed  in  his  place, 
Both  were  the  chosen  ones  of  God, 
To  represent  His  will  abroad. 

But  Satan  yet  busy,  beheld  with  delight, 
That  foes  were  increasing  made  ready  for  fight. 
Like  a  fiend  in  disguise,  or  the  tiger  that  creeps 
On  innocent  prey,  while  it  quietly  sleeps, 
So  Satan   in  ambush  thus  warily  came 
To  Jacob's  own  mother,  Eebekah  by  name; 
And  taught  this  fond  parent  the  truth  to  deny— 
1  Gen.  xxiv.  60. 


84  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

To  cheat  poor  old  Isaac — taught  Jacob  to  lie ! 
To  rob  her  son  Esau  of  blessings  in  store ; 
The  child  of  her  bosom,  she  honestly  bore.1 
Poor  Esau  dejected,  in  sorrow  then  cried, 
"  O  father,  do  bless  me,  why  am  I  denied  ? 
Shall  Jacob  thus  rob  me  by  artful  deceit, 
By  willfully  lying,  thy  blessing  defeat? 
Remember,     dear     father,     my     birthright     he 

craved, 
Now  robs  me  of  all  you  so  graciously  saved." 

But  too    late   was  his  plea,   all  tears  were  in 

vain  ;a 
No  prayers  could  avail,  what   was   done  must 

remain. 

While  Esau  defeated  and  robbed  of  his  right, 
We'll  not  forget  Jacob,  but  see  in  what  light 
We    view    him    while    proud    of   his    ill-gotten 
weal ; 

1  Ghrn.  xxviL  33.—"  xivii.  34-36. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  g£ 

But  readily  see  the  dark  shadows  that  steal 
O'er  the  wreck  of  his  hopes,  defying  repose, 
While  justice  condemns  him  wherever  he  goes: 
Oh,  view  him  while  taught  by  his  mother  to  lie, 
To  rob  his  own  brother,  his  visage  deny; 
With  heart  so   corrupted   and  conscience    thus 

seared, 

Deceiving  his  father  he  should  have  revered. 
Who   can   envy  his    lot  ?     No    contentment    is 

there, 

His  pleasures  like  bubbles  will  burst  in  the  air. 
With  ill-gotten  treasures,  no  blessings  can  bless, 
No  tongue  can  console,  and  no  hand  can  caress. 

But  poor  honest  Esau  is  richer  tenfold, 
Than  Jacob  with  caskets  of  coral  and  gold ; 
With  conscience  approving  and  loving  the  right, 
Wherever  he  journeyed  it  gave  him  delight. 


86  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Enshrouding  the  senses,  misleading  the  soul ; 
So  clouding  the  light  from  the  fountain  on  high, 
That  God  is  beheld  with  a  half-seeing  eye, 
And  then  so  distorted  and  misunderstood, 
He  sanctions  the  evil  as  though  it  were  good. 
Behold  Him  as  seen  blessing  Jacob  who  lied,1 
Who  robbed  his  own  brother  and  father  beside  ; 
See  the  plot  of  deception  to  ruin  his  brother, 
Concocted    and     taught     by     his     own    wicked 

mother.2 

N"o  censure  for  mother  or  son  can  we  trace; 
Unfortunate  record,  misleading  the  race ; 
But  God,  as  reported,  confirms  the  foul  deed, 
By  blessing  this  Jacob  and  all  of  his  seed  1s 

But  Jacob  with  riches  and  honor  prevailed, 
While  treasures  of  Laban  he  wrongly  assailed, 
And  with  them  departed  too  much  like  a  thief, 
But   God  yet  sustained  him,   which  gave  him 
relief, 

1  Gen.  xxviii   11,  15. — '  xxvii. — *  xxviii.  14,  15. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  gf 

And   still   would   be  with  him   whate'er  might 

befall, 
With  ring-streaked  cattle  and  asses  and  all.1 

Thus  Jacob  prevailing  in  every  design, 
The  line  of  his  power  he  could  not  define. 
With  courage  unbounded  and  will  undenied, 
All  mortals  outrivaled,  whi\3  God  he  defied. 
Preposterous  thought,  yet  as  true  as  the  book, 
A  wrestle  with  God  he  next  undertook!2 
At  night's  gentle  stillness,  while  nature  reposed, 
And  all  but  the  stellar  worlds  quietly  dozed, 
This    Jacob    and    God,    each    contending    for 

power, 

Selected  the  silent  and  slumbering  hour, 
To  prove  to  the  world  as  the  end  might  befall, 
Which  one  should  be  monarch  and  master  of  all. 

The  contest  seemed  doubtful  while  night  swiftly 
sped, 

1  Gen.  xxx.  27-43  ;   xxxi.  1-3.—'  xxxii.  24-30. 


gg  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

'Till  twilight  of  morning  o'er  Nature  was  shed ; 
While    Jacob,   less    yielding    than   darkness   of 

night, 

Was  hopeful,  determined,  in  excellent  plight ; 
When   God  without  hope  to  successfully  vie 
Used   Jacob   unfairly,   disjointing   his  thigh : 
But    Jacob    unyielding,    though     crippled     and 

lame, 
Yet    hopeful  for    conquest,    still   wrestled    the 

same, 

And  held  Him  so  closely,  so  firm  in  his  power, 
That  God  from  this  moment,  beginning  to  cower, 
Exclaimed,   ''Let  me  go,  the  daylight  is  break- 
ing.1 

For    thou  hast  prevailed  in  this  undertaking." 
Victorious  Jacob   denied  God's  petition, 
But  still  would  release  Him  on  certain  condition ; 
The  terms  God  accepted,  and  Jacob  succeeded 
In    winning    the    game     and    all    blessings    he 
needed.5 

'  Gen.  xxxii.  25,  26. — »  xxxii.  29. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION.  89 

Behold  the  great  Author  of  all  that  we  scan, 
Is  thwarted  by  Satan,  out-wrestled  by  man. 
God    said,    "As    a   prince    I    acknowledge  thj 

power, 

Thy  name  shall  be  honored  from  this  very  hour, 
As  with  man   so  with    Me    thy  success  is  the 

same, 

I'll  call  thee  not  Jacob  but  Israel's  thy  name." a 
Thus  ended  the  contest   without  reservation, 
While    Jacob    was     monarch    of     all     God's 

creation ! 


The  rolling  years  in   their  resistless  flight, 
Like  twilight  shadows  on  the  verge  of  night, 
Sped  swiftly  on,   not  heeding  weal  or  woe, 
As  floating  clouds  before  the   tempest  go ; 
And  while  the   ancient  record   we  pursue, 
A   God   distorted   still  is  brought  to  view ; 
And  His  most  hopeful  seed,  arrayed  in  power 
Again   are  thwarted   in   an  evil  hour : 

1  Geu.  txxii.  28. 


90  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Thus  Jacob,   once  so  richly  clad   and   fed, 
Came  near  starvation's  brink  for  want  of  bread ; 
And  all  his  tribes,  Jehovah's  chosen  race, 
Are  headlong  hurled  from  their  exalted  place, 
And  doomed  to  serve  the  servants  of  the  devil, 
A   God-forsaken   race,    whose  hope    was   evil ; 
And  were  oppressed  by  them  in  servile  chains, 
While  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  held  the  reins. 
Thus  slavery  with  its  heinous  crimes  was  born, 
To  make  despairing  hope  still  more  forlorn: 
It  seems  that  God  ordained  the  institution, 
Made    Pharaoh's    will    the     law    and    constitu- 
tion ; 

And  fearing  he  might  let  his   slaves   depart, 
God  often  hardened  Pharaoh's  wicked  heart  ; 
Thus    passed    long    years,  while   hope  was    yet 

deferred, 
Of   chains    that    bound    them,  not   a    link  was 

stirred, 

No   voice  for  freedom   rent  the  burdened   air, 
No  ray   of  light  in   this   their   dark   despair. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  §\ 

But  lo !    a  mother  who   her  babe  must  hide,1 
In  ark  of  rushes  launched  him  on  the  tide, 
Amid  the  dangers  there  alone   to  ride : 
No  gentle  voice  to  soothe,  nor  hand  to  save, 
His  little  bark  was  rocked  by  every  wave; 
The   evening  zephyrs  sang  his  lullaby, 
Though  every  breeze  that  murmured  was  a  sigh. 
Yet  from  that  feeble  floating  cradle-bed, 
Sprang  Israel's  hope,  and  only  promised  head, 
Yea,  Moses  rose  by  Infinite  decree, 
Their  chains  to  break  and  set  the  nation  free ; s 
He  carp*1  commissioned  by  the  will  of  God, 
To  rule  King  Pharaoh  with  a  magic  rod; 
A  strange  collision  here  we  plainly  see, 
While   God    througn     Pharaoh   said     it   should 

not  be  ;3 

God  sent  the  plagues  to  melt  his  stubborn  heart, 
To  make  him  yield,  that  Israel  might  depart, 
While   oft   subdued    and  filled   with    grief  and 

pain, 

ii.  2,3.— 2  iii.  15-18.— *iv.  21. 


92  VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION. 

The  monarch's  heart  was  hardened  yet  again ; 
Like  as  the  smith  who  works  with  cheerful  zeal, 
First  heats  his  rod  to  make  the  hardened  steel 

Now  Moses  was  a  meek  and  honest  man, 
And  sought  no  part  in  this  two-sided  plan ; 
For  as  God  chose  to  harden  Pharaoh's  heart, 
On  his  new  mission  he  was  loath  to  start;1 
The  Lord  to  give  him  courage  in  command, 
Instructed  him  in  tricks  at  sleight  of  hand, 
And  turned  his  rod  into  a  running  snake ; 
Alarmed,  he  fled  with  haste  for  safety's  sake  ;a 
Then  God  to  Moses  said,  with  much  avail, 
Put  forth  thy  hand  and  take  it  by  the  tail ; 
The  tail  he  caught,  nor  was  it   caught  in  vain. 
The  frightful  snake  became  a  rod  again.3 

But  Moses  yet  reluctantly  declined, 
For    fear    his    tongue    would    not    express    his 
mind  ;4 

1  Ex    iv.  1.—*  iv.  2,3.—*  iv.  4.— 4  iy.  10. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  93 

God    much    enraged,    thus  failing '  to  persuade 

him, 

Sent  Aaron  with  him,  as  a  tongue  to  aid  him ;' 
Thus  well  equipped  with  other  wondrous  things, 
He  was  prepared  to  meet  the  face  of  kings. 
Still  God,  distrusting  Moses,  sought  his  life, 
And  met  him  by  the  way  in  deadly  strife  ;2 
But   as  the  Lord  in  bloody   combat  failed, 
He   chose   to  have  the  king   by   him  assailed ; 
And  forth  to   Pharaoh   went   with  magic  rod, 
To    prove    by    tricks    that    he   was    sent    from 

God;3 
That     He    who   made    the    heavens,  the   earth, 

and  sea, 
Hath  said   that   Israel's  children  must  be  free. 

Soon,  face  to  face,  did  they  with  Pharaoh  meet, 
And  Aaron   cast   the   rod  before  his   feet: 
Presto  change!   in   serpent   form  it  crawled; 
But   Pharaoh   quickly   his  magicians   called, 

'Ex.  iv.  14-16— Hv.  24.— "vii.  10. 


94;  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

Who  came  with   rods   and   threw  them   on   the 

ground, 

When  each  became   a   serpent  running  round. 
Thus  in   this  first   act  Moses  was   defeated, 
For   all   that   he  had   done  was  well  repeated1 

But  Moses  next    with   rod   assailed   the   flood, 
The  fishes   died,   and    waters  turned   to   blood : 
Yet   the  magicians   led   by   Pharaoh's   will,       ' 
Performed  the  same  with  their  unfailing  skill  :9 
Which   seemed   to  prove   that   Moses,   with   his 

rod, 
Might  not  have   seen,   or  ever  heard  of  God. 

But    Aaron     next    with    rod    in     outstretched 

hand, 

Invited   all  the  frogs  upon   the  land ; 
Yet  the   magicians  with  like  mao;ic   skill, 

O  O  y 

Called  up  the  frogs  obedient   to   their  will  :3 
Till   all  the  realm  was  filled   in   every   place, 

Ex.  vii.  10-12.— "  vii.  19-22.— 8viii.  5-7. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION.  95 

With  this  amphibious,  hopping,  croaking  race. 
Now  Pharaoh  being  over-run  with  frogs, 
Implored  they  might  return  among  the  bogs, 
If  God  complied  all  Israel  then  might  go — 
Be  ever  free  from  daily  toil  and  woe. 
But  now  his  hardened  heart  by  God's  decree, 
Forbade  that  Israel's  children  should  be  free: 
For  when  he  saw  the  croakers  disappear, 
He  broke  his  vow,  and  did  not  God  revere.1 

Next  Aaron   with  his  rod  assailed  the   dust, 
And     all    the     grains    upon     the    earth's    fair 

crust 

Were    turned    to    lice,   by   God's    divine    com- 
mand, 
To    show   His    mighty    power    throughout   the 

land  :2 

Egyptian   skill  which   heretofore  prevailed, 
In  this  great  lousy  trick  completely  failed'* 

1  Ex  viii.  8-15— "viii  17.— 3  viii.  18. 


96  VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION. 

And  the  magicians  did  at  length  determine 
That  none  but  Moses'  God  could  make  the  vermin  I1 
Yet  Pharaoh's  hardened  heart,  by  God's  decree, 
Forbade  that  Israel's  children  should  be  free. 


INTERLUDE. 

(Though    hard   or   soft   his   heart,  who    could    consent 
To   yield    the   palm,    and    sorrowing    relent, 
And    love   this   God,    and   venerate   His    name, 
While   thrice   defeated    in   a    chosen    game  ? 
And   though    surpassed    by   God   in    making   lice, 
He   need    not   envy   Him   in   that  device, 
Yet   we   admit   (make   much   of  the   admission), 
That   God  (so    called)   was   but   the   best  magician !) 

While  Moses  now  Egyptian  skill  outvies, 

He  fills  the  land  with  grievous  swarms  of  flies.8 

Next  all  the  cattle  by  divine  command, 

1  Es.  viii.  19.—"  viii.  24. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  97 

ELe  smote  with  murrain  throughout  all  the 
land,1 

While  boils  and  blains  afflicted  Pharaoh's 
race,2 

And  groans  and  sighs  were  heard  in  every- 
place. 

Then  followed  hail  with  intermingled  fire; 

Which  smote  with  death,  fulfilling  God's 
desire : 

Till  Pharaoh  cried,  "  It  is  enough !  forbear ! 

These  all  combined  are  more  than  mortal's 
share. 

If  fire  and  hail  and  roaring  thunders  cease, 

All  Israel's  children  I  will  then  release."' 

INTERLUDE. 

(Pray  pity  him  who  fain  would  let  them  go, 
But  God  ordained  that  it  should  not  be  so  ; 
Then  blame  him  not  while  bound  by  firm  decree, 

1  Ex.  ix.  3-7,— r"     ,  be.  8-10.— *    .  ix.  22-28. 
5 


98  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

That   Israel's    children    yet   should    not    be  freo : 
For    He    who    raised    him    up,    and    gave    him    birth 
To   show   His   mighty    power   throughout   the    earth, 
Would  not     consent     that     Pharaoh's     heart     should 

yield, 

Until   His   horrid   purpose    was   revealed ; 
That   Pharaoh   still    must    suffer   grief  and    pain, 
For   only   doing   what   God    did    ordain.1 
That    "God   of    love"    might   show    what     lie     hath 

willed, 
Then     damn     His     child     through     whom       it     was 

fulfilled. 

What   other   course,   I    ask,    could   he   pursue, 
When    all    he    did,   God    raised    him    up    to    do? 
And    can    you   say,    (Oh,    say   it   not   to    me) ! 
That   this   is   God    who   fills   immensity  ? 
If  this  be   so,   wherever   I   may   dwell, 
Unending  space   to   me   is    endless    hell  !) 

Next    swarming    clouds    of    locusts    filled    the 
land,9 

1  Ex.  ix.  16;  x.  1,2.—*  x.  12-16. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  99 

To  eat  the  scattered  grain  the  hail  let  stand. 

And  to   devour   all   vegetation   fair, 

And  leave  earth's  bosom  desolate  and  bare. 

Next  darkness  came,  and  like  a  funeral  pall, 
With  mantle  thick  and  black,  enveloped  all ; 
And  hung  o'er  vegetation's  corpse  a  gloom, 
A  darkness  ten  times  darker  than  the  tomb, 
For  three  long  days  without  a  ray  of  light : 
Where  was  the  sun  in  this  protracted  night  ? 1 
But  Pharaoh,  now  again,  as  oft  before, 
Called  unto  Moses,  whom  he  did  implore ; 
And  said,  "  Now  go  from  Egypt  with  your  sons, 
Your  wives  and  daughters,  and  your  little  ones; 
And  only  let  your  flocks  and  herds  be  stayed : 
In  leaving  them  you  will  not  be  delayed." ! 

Without  his  herds  he  would  not  leave  the  sod 
For  they  must  burn  a  sacrifice  to  God. 
A  cattle's  hoof  shall  not  remain  behind, 

1  Ex.  x.  20-23—'  x.  24. 


100  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

Without  reserve  these  were  the  terms  defined.1 

And  while  the  king  made  ready  to  reply, 
To  yield  the  point,  or  else  perhaps  deny, 
God  seemed  to  fear  his  hardened  heart  would 

fail, 

That  Moses   and   the    plagues  might  now   pre- 
vail ; 

And  fearing  Israel's  children  might  depart, 
Again  re-hardened  Pharaoh's  hardened  heart;2 
Thus  vetoed  all,  and  took  direct  command, 
To  multiply  His  wonders  in  the  land. 
God  said  to  Moses,  "Pharaoh  shall  not  hear3 
(And  hearing  not,  he  surely  could  not  fear), 
That    I     may    bring     upon     him     one     plague 

more,4 

Eclipsing  all  I  ever  did  before, 
lie  then  will  give  you  all  a  glad  release, 
And  let  your  flocks  and  herds  depart  in  peace ; 
But  now,  before  you  make  this  move  so  bold, 

'Ex  x.  25,  26.— "x.  27.— 'xi.  9.— 4  xi.  1,   9. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  \Q\ 

First  borrow  all  their  silver  and  their  gold, 
I'll  give  thee  favor  in  their  doubtful  eyes,1 
That  they  may  not  the  borrower  despise. 
And  I,  the  Lord,  before  the  early  dawn, 
Will  smite  in  Egypt  all  of  her  first  born."2 

O  mortals,  lend  your  ears !  "What  rends  the  air  ?s 
What  cries  and  groans  so  full  of  deep  despair? 
Is  half  'a  nation  wailing  for  the  dead? 
Have  all  their  cherished  hopes  forever  fled? 
Is  every  home  made  desolate  and  bare  ? 
And  every  mother  frantic  with  despair? 
An  awful  chorus  freights  the  midnight  air!4 

But  read  the  page,  its  import  ponder  well, 
If  this  be  God,  where  is  the  fiend  of  Hell? 
For  God  (so  called)  and  maker  of  the  race, 
Came  forth  at  midnight  from  His  holy  place,5 
While    mothers    slept,    with    infants    on    their 
breast, 

1  Ex.  xu  2,  3.— 2xi.  4,  5.— 3  xi.  6.— "  xii.  30.— 5  xii.  2* 


102  VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION: 

[n  calm  repose  upon  their  couch  of  rest — 
My  pen  now  fa.ters  while  I  trace  the  lines, 
Where    God   is    falsely    charged    with   base    de- 
signs : 
But   reason's  light   should   guide  the  man  who 

reads — • 

That  God  of  love  with  bloody  hands  proceeds 
To  every  house,  before  the  early  dawn, 
To  slay  in  Egypt  all  of  her  first  born ; 
That  throughout  Israel,  whether  old  or  young, 
Ko  harm   shall    come,   no   dog  shall  move    his 

tongue ; 

Their  very  beasts  He  will  protect  with  care, 
While    babes    of   Egypt    shall    His    vengeance 

share ; 

That  ye  may  know  that  He  who  all  controls, 
Thinks    more    of    Israel's    dogs,    than    Egypt's 
souls ! x 

To  guard  Jriis  chosen  few,  with  care  selected, 

1  Ex.  xi.  7. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  103 

Their  homes  were  stained  with  blood  and  thus 

protected, 

That  God  might  pass  them  by  without  mistake, 
While     murdering    infants   for    His     GLORY'S 

SAKE ! * 

First  born  of  kings  obedient  to  His  will, 
First    born    of  maids    that    served    behind    the 

mill, 

First  born  of  captives  in  the  dungeon  bound, 
First  born   of    all,   where   blood   could  not  be 

found, 

Alike  He  slew,  as  first  of  every  beast,2 
.God's  flaming  vengeance  surely  had  a  feast ! 

INTERLUDE. 

(If  every  demon,  filled  with  awful  rage, 
Should  burst  the  confines  of  his  smoky  cage, 
And  rush  with  heated  fury  from  his  cell, 
And  leave  behind  a  quiet,  vacant  hell ; 
Should  pile  the  horrors  of  that  dismal  clime, 

1  Ex.  xii.  22,  23.— 2  xi.  5 ;  xii.  29. 


104:  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

With  all  its  terrors  at  a  given  time 

Upon  a  race,   while  couched  in  quiet  sleep, 

While  midnight  slumbers  locked  their  senses  deep ; 

They  could  but  shadow  forth   (don't  call   it  true), 

What  God  performed,  what  demons  could  not  do  ! 

Is  this  the  God  whose  mercies  from  above 

Exhibit  tender  and  paternal  love, 

Who  left  His  throne  on  high  and  came  to  earth, 

And  took  the  form  of  man,  in  humble  birth  ? 

Who  left  the  glories  of  a  heaven  most  high, 

To  bear  His  cross,  to  suffer  shame  and  die, 

To  rescue  man  from  an  eternal  hell, 

And  fit  his  soul  for  heaven,  where  angels  dwell  ! 

Is  this  the  Lord  who  lovingly  caressed 

The  little   children,  whom  He  took  and  blest  ? 

If  so,  a  glorious  change  for  man  is  wrought : 

But  can  a  changing  God,   with  hope  be  sought  ?) 


But  we'll  return  to  Pharaoh,  though  with  pain. 
And  briefly  trace  him  through  his  fearful  reign. 
While  viewing  murdered  babes  on  every  side, 
Whose  throbbing  hearts  revealed  a  crimson  tide, 
While  mothers'  groans,  re-echoed  from  the 
ground 

5 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  Ifl* 

In  frantic  discords,  rent  the  air  around, 
Though  God    again    had    made   his   heart    like 

steel, 

In  spite  of  all,  he  now  was  made  to  feel; 
Yea,  more,  to  act:    without  an  hour's  delay, 
He  ordered  Israel's  children  sent  away ; 
And  called  to  Moses  while  it  yet  was  night, 
And  said,  "  I  pray  thee,  make  a  speedy  flight, 
With  all  of  Israel,  leaving  not  a  head, 
And  freely  serve  the  Lord  as  ye  have  said;1 
All  must  depart,  or  we  are  surely  dead : 
Your  cattle  and  your  herds,  leave  none  behind, 
These  are  the  terms  that  you  yourself  defined." 
And  to  secure  a  prompt  and  speedy  start, 
They  freely  did  with  gold  and  raiment  part; 
Thus  one  and  all  from  Pharaoh  were  set  free, 
Away  they  wound  their  journey  to  the  sea. 

All  Egypt  now  reposed  in  quiet  rest, 
Without  a  plague  to  hinder  or  molest; 

1  Ex.  xii.  29-33. 


106  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

Hope  sweetly  smiled,  vet  all   their  hopes  were 

vain, 

For  God  now  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart  again, 
And  sent  him  forth  to  capture  and  subdue, 
And  to  this  end  with  vigor  did  pursue. 
With  ten  times  hardened  heart  by  God's  de- 
cree, 

He  followed  Israel's  children  to  the  sea ; 
And  found  them  all  encamped  upon  the  shore, 
Where  rolling  tides  obstructed  them  before.1 
But    He    who  led  them  forth  by  clouds  of  fire, 
Through  Egypt's  wilds,   'mid   dangers  dark  and 

dire, 

Had  now  aroused  all  Egypt  from  their  rest, 
And  put  a  fiery  demon  in  each  breast. 
With     crowded     chariots     drawn    by    foaming 

steeds, 

They  dashed  with  fury  on  for  valiant  deeds, 
To  capture  Israel,  as  they  all  supposed; 
But  just  before  they  in  fierce  combat  closed, 

:  Ex.  xiv.  4-9. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION,  107 

God  interfered  ere  yet  they  reached  the  scene, 
By  clouds  of  darkness  sent  to  intervene.1 
Thus  were  they  hampered  by  the  very  hand 
That  raised  their  hopes,  while  death  was   onlj 

planned ; 
For  while    God    hemmed   their  pathway  by   a 

cloud, 

He  was  preparing  for  them  each  a  shroud — 
Was  opening  wide  and  deep  a  watery  grave 
Below  the  angry  surface  of  the  wave — 
While    o'er    the   pathway   leading    through   the 

sea, 

Marched  Israel  in  safety,  and  was  free.2 
The    darkened    clouds    now    lift    their   curtain- 
folds, 

And  Pharaoh  with  astonished  gaze  beholds, 
Amid  the  deep,  a  path  from  shore  to  shore, 
Where  Israel  walks  in  safety  on  before. 
While  Pharaoh  now  beheld  the  vacant  main, 
His  hardened  heart,  God  hardened  yet  again  ;  • 

1  Ex.  xiv.  20.— 'J  xiv.  21,  22.— 3  xiv.  17. 


103  VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION. 

With  sinews  steeled  he  now  pursued  his  foes, 
Not  dreaming  that  the  Lord  would  interpose, 
But  God  who  had  inspired  his  hope  with  zeal 
Was  now  prepared  His  motive  to  reveal — 
To  prove  to  him,  while  in  the  watery  gap, 
That  Moses  was  the  bait  and  this  the  trap  ! 
Thus  God  descends  from  His  supernal  arch, 
To  intercept  him  in  his  ordered  inarch ; 
Takes    off    his    chariot    wheels    while    moving 

round,1 

And  throws  the  loaded  axles  on  the  ground : 
Thus  while  obedient  in  his  wild  pursuit, 
His    steeds    were    still,    and    every    wheel    was 

mute. 

While  in  this  awful  plight  amid  the  sea, 
With  one  accord  they  would  from  Israel  flee. 
But  God   who  made   their  graves   so  long  and 

deep, 
Though   sad    their    fate,  resolved    His  vow    to 

keep, 

1  Ex.  xiv.  25. 


VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION.  1Q9 

Now   broke    the    bands    that    held    the   fearful 

wall: 

Then  rushed  the  maddened  waters  in  their  fail ; 
Wave    leaped   on   wave,  then    broke  upon    the 

shore, 

While  every  breeze  a  wail  of  terror  bore; 
The  angry  waters  sealed  their  silent  doom, 
And  gulfed  them  all  within  this  fearful  tomb. 

INTERLUDE, 

(Thus  perished  Pharaoh  in  the  deep  Red  Sea : 
There  let  him  rest  with  long  tranquillity ; 
Remote  from  plagues — the  instruments  of  God; 
Remote  from  Moses  with  his  magic  rod ; 
Remote  from  lice,  that  countless,  tireless  race ; 
Remote  from  frogs,  that  croaked  in  every  place ; 
Remote  from  hissing  snakes,  that  bite  and  crawl  ; 
Remote  from  flies,  that  tease  and  vex  us  all; 
Remote  from  maddened  hail  with  fire  and  smoke ; 
Remote  from  boils  and  blains,  that  most  provoke ; 
Remote  from  murdered  babes  on  every  side, 

1  Ex.  xiv.  26. 


110  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Whose  weeping  mothers  would   have  gladly  died ; 
Remote  from  God  (I  hope),  who  raised  him  up, 
To  put  these  plagues  within  his  bitter  cup, 
That  He  might  show  great  wisdom  in  the  deed, 
And  thus  be  honored  by  His  chosen  seed. 

Honor  ?    0  shame !    The  word  is  stained  with  crime^ 

And  wrested  from  a  pinnacle  sublime. 

And  God,  the  name  I  ever  have  adored, 

Is  clothed  with  all  the  terrors  Hell  hath  stored! 

For  He  surpasses  Satan  and  his  host, 

In  deeds  of  which  they  all  combined  would  boast ; 

Thus  Satan,  in  this  wonder-working  age, 

Contents  himself  within  his  smoky  cage, 

For  God,  who  first  defied  his  powerful   arm, 

So  oft  subdued,  now  seems  to  yield  the  palm ; 

And  rather  than  again  oppose  his  will, 

Does  Satan's  work  to   keep  old   Satan  still ! 

Pray  do  not  censure  him  who  writes  these  lines , 

It  is  not  he  who  thus  the  Lord  defines : 

But  read  the  page  with  an  unbiased  mind, 

And  more  than  here  is  penned,  you  there  will  find : 

All  there  may  see  that  God  in  very  deed, 

In  Pharaoh's  movements  always  took  the  lead, 

Ordained  his  course  and  nerved  his  hardened  heart, 


VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 


Ill 


That  he  could  not  from  His  decrees  depart;1 

That  for  this  purpose  God  had  raised  him  up, 

And  deeply  filled  his  burning,  bitter  cup ; 

That  He  in  him  might  plainly  show  to  man, 

An  undisputed  record  of  His  plan  ; 

And  thus  acquire  a  wondrous  reputation 

Throughout  the  world,  in  every  tribe  and  nation. 

As  rivers  run  within  their  channels  deep, 

'Mid  flowery  meads,  or  cataracts  to  leap, 

So  Pharaoh,  led  by  Him  who  shaped  his  mind, 

Could  not  forsake  the  path  that  was  defined ; 

But  gladly  wound  his  way  through  weal  and  woe — 

Through  storm  and  sunshine,  facing  every  foe ; 

Yet  strange  to  say,  while  serving  God  so  well, 

The  patli  he  trod,  should  end  in  ENDLKSS  HELL  !) 

But  Moses  and  his  tribe  with  one  accord,2 
Proclaimed  a  glorious  triumph  of  the  Lord  : 
Thus    praised    his     name    because     their     cruel 

foes 

Beneath  the  waves  had  found  their  last  repose 
"  The  Lord  is  our  defense  and  man  of  war ; 
O  praise  His  holy  name  forever  more! 

1  Ex.  ix.  16  ;  Rom.  ix.  17.—"  Ex.  xv.  1-10. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION. 

For  He  in  greatness,  goodness,  and  in  wrath, 
Consumes  all  foes,  like  stubble  in  His  path : 
And  with  the  blasts  that  from  His  nostril  a 

sweep, 
VValls    in    the    floods,    and    stays    the    rolling 

deep. 
For  the  depths  were  congealed 

In  the  heart  of  the  sea, 
And  our  path  was  revealed 
To  the  land  of  the  free ! 
And  as  we  safely  reached  the  happy  shore, 
Our  foes   pursued,   but   God,    with    one   breath 

more, 

Released  the  flood,  the  restless  foaming  tide, 
Where  Pharaoh  and  his  hosts  together  died. 
O  praise  the  Lord  in  one  grand  chorus  swell, 
For  saving  us,   and  sending  them  to  hell." 
Thus  Moses  sang  on  old  Arabia's  shore, 
While  murdering  waves  their  chimes  of  terror 

bore. 


VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 


INTERLUDE. 

(All  Israel  now  released  from  hostile  foes, 

Exempt  from  Egypt's  bondage  and  its  woes, 

Breathed  freedom's  holy  air,  surcharged  with  hope, 

Amid  Arabia's  wilds  with  ample  scope. 

This  wand'ring  race — the  chosen  tribe  of  God, 

Still  led  by  Moses,   with  his  magic  rod, 

Freed  from  the  terrors  of   internal  foes, 

With  none  but  Satan  left  to  interpose, 

Why  may  they  not  become  a  race  more  pure, 

If  God  hath  power  the   devil  to  secure ; 

Or  can  to  some  extent  His  plans  fulfill, 

If  not  to  conquer  Satan,  keep  him  still  ? 

We  fain  would  hope  at  this  eventful  clay, 

That  Israel's  God  might  have  triumphant  sway. 

But  read  the  page,  be  honest  while  you  seek, 

Nerved  for  the  right,  let  truth  and  reason  speak !) 


As  Israel  journeyed  from  the  sea-girt  shore,1 
A  hopeful  future  cheered  them  as  before : 
But,    sad    to    tell,    they    soon    were    plunged 
within 

1  Ex.  xv.  22. 


VOICE   OF  SUPEPSTITIOK 

A   dark  abyss — the  wilderness  of  Sin. 
Grieved  to  the  heart,  with  lamentations  wild, 
They  sighed  for  mother  Egypt  like  a  child. 
"Oh!   would  to  heaven  we  had  in  Egypt  died 
By    God's   own    hand,    with    flesh-pots    by    our 

side  r1 

Is  this  the  promised  land  for  Israel's  race — 
This  wilderness  of  Sin,  this  dismal  place  ? 
Where    gormand     famine    preys    on    old    and 

young, 

And  gives  no  drop  to  cool  the  burning  tongue. 
Oh !  give  us  back  our  childhood's  home  again, 
With  Egypt's  plagues,  with  slavery's  galling 

chain." 

Thus  Israel  murmured  and  with  one  accord 
They  censured  Aaron,  Moses,  and  the  Lord. 
To  ease  their  hunger  and  appease  their  wrath, 
The    showers   of    bread    from    heaven    pursued 

their  path ; 
And  quails,  most  rich  in  flavor,  winged  their  flight 

1  Ex.  xvi.  3. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION.  H5 

Around  their  tents  before  the  hours  of  ni^ht.1 

O 

For  forty  years  they  were  released  from   "oil, 
Not  having  need  to  cultivate  the  soil. 
God  thus  repealed  His  law,  so  gravely  said, 
"  With   sweat    upon    thy   face,    shalt    thou   eat 
bread."2 


INTERLUDE. 

(We  do  not  choose  in   this  our  brief  review, 
Their  line  of  march  in  detail  to  pursue  ; 
Nor  trace  all  wayward  paths  these  men  have  trod, 
Who  charge  their  crimes  upon  their  maker  God : 
But  glean  enough  to  prove  the  Lord  defined, 
Was  but  the  passion  of  each  writer's  mind  ; 
That  all  these  tribes  in  this  barbarian  age, 
Reflect  but  their  true  image  on  each  page  ; 
That  God  of  vengeance  and  of  wrath  unveils, 
Only  as  love  within  each  spirit  fails — 
And  he  who  loves  the  Lord  of  Israel's  race, 
In  this  enlightened  age  is  ont  of  place : 
He  should  have  lived  and  died  in  agea  past, 

1  Ex.  xvi.  12,  13. — "  (Jon.  iii.  19. 


116  VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Ere  reason's  light  its  golden  hues  had  cast 
Where  mortals  sat  in  darkness,  free  from  doubt, 
All  dimly  dreaming  what  they  were  about ; 
When  light  of  science  had  no  resting-place 
Within  this  half-developed  human  race. 
O  Reason  !     in  thy  searchings  look  them  out, 
Arouse  their  souls  and  make  them  dare  to  doubt ; 
Teach  them  to  love,  and  only  seek  the  truth, 
Though  it  may  change  all  lessons  taught  in  youth  ; 
Throw  off  their  shackles,  set  the  trammeled  free, 
And  make  them  dare  to  think,  and  learn  of  thee !) 


"While  Israel  (led  by  Moses)  journeyed  on, 
Before  three  months  of  forty  years  were  gone,1 
They  all  approached  Mount  Sinai's  fearful  base, 
"Where  God  proposed  to  show  his  shining  face. 
While  camped  near  Sinai,  Moses  upward  trod, 
And  scaled  the  mountain  height  and  called  on 


Who  well  received  him  and  rehearsed  His  deeds  ; 
Spake  of  the  present  and  of  future  needs  : 
And  said  that  Israel  should  behold  His  face,3 

1  Ex.  xix.  I.—1  xix.  3.—'  xix.  11-16. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION.  ^7 

'Mid  fire  and   smoke   His  features  they  should 

trace. 
But    all    must  wash   and  make   their  garments 

clean, 

Before  the  Lord  on  Sinai  could  be  seen : 
Three  days  were  granted  by  the  Lord's  decree, 
That  they  might  one  and  all  from  filth  be  free. 
When    the     third    morning    winged    its    silent 

round, 

Old  Sinai's  roaring  thunders  shook  the  ground, 
And  forked  lightning's  lurid,  leaping  flame, 
Cut  loose   its  reins   and   sped   from   whence     it 

came, 

All    Isreal    now    beheld  with  wond'ring  eyes, 
The  fire   and   smoke,  while  thunders  shook   the 

skies  ; 

They  stood  amazed,  yet  sought  in  vain  God's  face, 
For  neither  form  or  feature  could  they  trace. 

Hope  thus  deferred,  well  might  their  doubts  arise1 

1  Ex.  xviii. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION. 

And   on   reflection   thus  soliloquize ; 
"If  this  is  Moses'   God  with  such   a  face, 
He   is   not   ours,   in   this,  or   any    place; 
If  'tis  not  God,   then  Moses  did   deceive, 
Or  God   hath   said    what   we   can  not   believe; 
Be   as   it   may,   the   case   to   us  is   clear, 
A  God  like  that  we  never  can  revere  ; 
We  would  prefer  a   molten   god  by  half, 
Though   molded   in  the   image   of  a  calf."1 

But  strange  to  say  that  seventy-four  in   all,2 
Went  bravely  up,  and  gave   the   Lord   a  call. 
They  saw  His  feet,  on  pavement  made  of  stone ; 
While   all    His  form   with     heavenly   clearness 

shone. 

God  said   to  Moses,  "  Say  to   Israel's  tribe, 
'T  is   my  desire   that  they  for  me  subscribe : 
I'll   take  of  them  what  they  may  give  to  thee ; 
Gold,   silver,   brass,    or  any   thing  it  be, 
Blue  cloth  or  purple,  goat's   hair,   too,   is  good, 

1  Ex.  xxxii.  1-4. — 2  xxiv.  9-11. 


VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Rams'  skins  in  red,  spices,  and  shittira  wood." 
Much  more  He  wished,  and  hoped  that  they 

would  give, 

Beside  a  house,  where  He  might  come  and  live, 
To  make  His  home  and  constant  dwelling-place, 
Among  these  wayward  tribes  of  Israel's  race.1 


INTERLUDE. 

O    world   of  mortals,   men    of  high    repute, 
Is  this   your   God?    speak — are  you    deaf  and  mute? 
If  silence    doth    affirm,    and   yield    consent, 
And    from  your   thoughtless   souls    it   givetli    vent, 
Pray    let   me   ask   you   to    reflect   a   while, 
And  see  how  Nature's  God  you  all  defile. 
Is  tliis  the  Author  of  the  beauteous  earth? 
Who  gave  all  other  worlds  their  form  and  birth? 
Who    made  our   stellar   orbs   that,    one    by    one, 
Revolve   in    order   round    their   parent   sun  ? 
Made  worlds  on  worlds  revolve    around  each  star, 
In    silent   grandeur,    all    without    a  jar? 
Who  marshalled  all  the  glitt'ring   orbs  of  light, 
Gave    each    its    path,    and    never-ending   flight? 
1  Ex  xxv.  1-9  j  xxix. 


120  VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Who  gave   to  Saturn    his   concentric  rings, 
Within  whose   golden    bands   he    whirls   and   swings  \ 
Thus    suns   and    systems   tread    the    depths    of  space, 
And    leave   no   tracks   for   other    worlds   to   trace. 
Unending   spheres   revolve  'mid    viewless   skies, 
Till    lost   in   thought,    imagination    dies ; 
Yet   all    united,    all    one   law    obey, 
Like    little   wheels   that   keep    the   time    of  day ; 
All    speak   one    language   to   th'    enraptured    ear, 
To    every  clime,    that   nature's   God   is   here: 
That  He  who  governs  all  with  constant  core, 
Records  his  glorious  image  everywhere. 

O   God    of  nature,  infinite   in    power, 

Thy    wisdom    shines   more   radiant   every   hour; 

Yet   none   but   Thou  canst  ever  comprehend 

Thy    wondrous   works,    though   ages   never   end. 

Thy    boundless   being   circles   all    extent, 

Thy    will,   all    worlds   and    beings    represent; 

The   viewless   shores   of  Thine    eternal   sea, 

Are   gemmed     with   worlds   that   know    no    God    but 

Thee. 

Yet   thoughtless,    weak,    irreverential    man, 
Hath    such   delusive   vision    of  Thy    span, 
That   he    would   measure   Thee  with    square   and  rule, 
As    he    now   takes    dimensions    of  a   mule ; 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  jgi 

JTath  sncli  uncouth  conceptions  of  Thy  head, 
lie   makes   Thee    covet   ram   skins  dyed    in    red ; 
Would   wad   Thy    boundless   limits   to   a   house, 
As  children  capture  and  incage  a  mouse !) 

But  Moses  tarried  long   on    Sinai's   mount;1 
For  which  delay  they  could  not  well   account; 
And  fearing  he   might  not  return    again, 
And   as   desires  to   see   the   Lord  proved   vain, 
The  people  said,  "  Up,  Aaron  !   make   a  god 
To  lead  us   on,   like   Moses   with    his  rod." 
So  Aaron — like   the  priests   of   modern   times, 
Who   preach   for  gold,  or   even  for  the    dimes, 
And  to  this  end  preach  what  the  people  will, 
Or   any   god,   so   they  but  get   their    fill — 
Obeyed  their  voice,  their  most  preposterous  plea, 
And  made  a  god,  that  they  could  feel  and  see, 
Of  golden  rings,  from   out   their  jeweled  ears, 
A   molten   god,   of  which   they  had    no   fears.2 
When   Aaron  smoothed  it  off  with  graven  tool, 
He   told   them   with   an   air  of  truth    so   cool, 

1  Ex.  xxxii.  1.—".  zxxiL  2,  3. 


122  VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 

"  This  is   the   god  that   took  direct    command, 
That    led    you    forth    from    Egypt's    darkened 

land;" 

Then    built   an   altar,   made   a  proclamation, 
Declared  the   calf  the  god   of  all  that   nation.1 

When  Moses'   God   the    golden  calf  beheld, 
And  saw  the  people  joyfully  impelled 
To  bow  before  this  legged  lump  of  gold, 
And  that  by  such  a  calf  His   throne  was  sold. 
He  said  to   Moses,  "  Get   thee  down,    I  pray, 
The  people  have   departed  from   their   way  ;- 
Let   me  alone  to   act  my   chosen  part, 
And  sate  the  vengeance  of  my  burning  heart, 
For  all  my  wrath  against  them  waxed  hot, 
And  I'll   consume   them  all   upon  the  spot ; 
But  out   of  thee  I'll  make   a  nation   great — • 
Restore  the  race   to   its   primeval   state." " 

But  Moses,  not  elated  by  this  plea, 

1  Kx.  xxxii.  4,.').— *  xxxii.  7,  3.— 3  xxxii.  10,  11. 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION:  128 

Would  not  consent  to  let  Jehovah  be; 
But  chose  to  pacify  His  wrathful  zeal, 
And  thus  addressed  Him  till  he  made  Him 

feel: 

"  If  thus  Thine  anger  burns  and  -waxes  hot, 
And  sure   destruction   is   their    doleful  lot, 
All  Egypt  then  will   speak,  and  justly   say, 
That  God   designed  His  people  here  to   slay. 
Turn   from  Thy  fearful  wrath,   at   once   repent 
Before  Thy   vengeance  is  on  Israel   spent; 
Remember   Abraham,    and  Isaac   too  ; 
And  what  Thou  swearest  by  Thyself  to  do — • 
To  multiply  their  seed   like  stars  of  heaven ; 
A  promised  land   should  unto   them  be  given; 
And  all  their  seed  inherit  it  forever, 
From   which  no  power  their  title  deed    should 

sever." l 

Thus  Moses  intercepts  Him  in  the  path, 
Controls  His  will,  and  stays  that  awful  wrath. 

'Ex.  xxxii.  11-13. 


124  VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 

And  God  repents  of  evil   thought  to   do, 
And  spares  the  golden  calf  and  Israel  too.1 

The  Lord  diverted  from  such  fearful  ways, 
The  threatened  vengeance  for  a  while  delays; 
Then  Moses  turning  from  Him.  left  the  mount, 
Came  down  to  Israel  from   the  fiery  fount, 
"With  stones,  containing  God's  divine   command^ 
All  written  o'er,  within  his  grasping  hand : 
Approaching  Israel,  songs  salute  his  ear; 
The  merry  dance  was  seen  as  he   drew  near ; 
The  golden  calf  appeared  amid  the  throng, 
And   all   the    air  re-echoed  with  their  song. 

Now  Moses,  though  he  preached  to  God  so  well, 
To  save  this  people  and  His  wrath  expel, 
Forgot  the  lesson  of  an  hour  before, 
And  all  its  moral  import  did  ignore ; 
His  anger,   like   a   rising,   rushing   tide, 
Or  red-hot  lava  from   a  mountain  side, 

1  Ex.  xxxii.  14 


VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION.  -^g 

Leaped  from  the  slumbers  of  its  quiet  rest, 
And   roused   a  deadly   demon   in  his  breast ! 
While  in  this  awful  plight  with  God's  great  law, 
Celestially  engraved  without  a  flaw, 
Select  as  every  letter  thus  must  be, 
As  specimen  of  God's  chirography, 
He  dashed  the  graven  record  from  his  hands, 
And  broke  in  fragments   the  divine  commands,1 
Then  grabbed  the  calf,   impelled  by  heated  ire 
And   cast  the  golden  image  in   the  tire.2 

The  Lord  perceiving   Moses  in  such  plight, 
Employs  his   wrath  to    instigate  a  fight; 
To   arm  each  son   and  speed  him  on  the  way 
With   sword  in  hand   a   demon   to  portray; 
Each   to  his  brother,  his    companion,   friend, 
A   crimson   tide   from   every  heart  to  send.3 

Now  Moses,   in  his  wrathful  mood,   obeyed  ; 
Did  not  oppose,  nor  was  God's  will   delayed, 

1  Ex.  xxxti.  15-19. — 3  xxxii.  20. — 3  xxxii.  27. 


126  VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 

But  quickly  armed  his   men  for  deadly  fight, 
And  waged  a  bloody  combat  with  delight. 
There  fell  three  thousand,  as  the  record  stands,1 
Of  friends  and  kindred  by  the  Lord's  commands  : 
Thus  broke   Himself  His  law,  "  Thou  shalt  not 

kill," 

On   stones  engraved,   the  record   of  His   will.3 
If   He  repented  in   the  other  place, 
He  surely  must  have  "  fallen  now  from  grace." 
And  soon  from  polished   etiquette   departs — 
Conceals  His  face,  but  shows  His  hindmost  parts  ! s 

This  ancient  God,    the  pattern   of  that   age, 
So   oft  misled  by    fierce  vindictive  rage, 
Records   His   law   in   chapters  long  and  dry, 
Which  all  can  read,  we  therefore  pass  them  by : 
But   after  full  directions    what  to  eat, 
And  which  must  be  refused  in  kinds  of  meat, 
How  strange   the  record   seems  while  there  we 
read, 

1  Ex.  xxxii  28.— *  xx.  13.—'  xxxiii.  23. 


VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION.  J27 

That   God  Himself  commands  the  heinous  deed 
To  eat  the  flesh  of  their  own  children  dear, 
if  they  did    not   His  horrid  laws   revere !  * 

This  God,  who  also  said,  *«  Thou  shalt  not  kill," 
Directed   Moses  to   revoke   His  will, 
And   raise   a  mighty   army  fierce  and   bold, 
Six   hundred  thousand  strong   in   numbers  told ; 
To   plunge     the    naked   sword   and  javelin 
Against   a  race   of  men   they   had   not    seen. 
This   mighty   army   numb'ring    every   soul 
From   age   of  twenty   on   their  muster  roll,2 
Now  left  the  Mount  and  took  unmeasured  route, 
Through  trackless  wilds  with  mingled  hope  and 

doubt. 

And  as  the  tide  of  time  then  ebbed  and  flowed, 
Upon  whose  restless  waves  they  swiftly  rode, 
They   often   murmured  at  the  hand  of  fate, 
That   led    them     safely   through   the    Eed    Sea 

gate. 

1  Lev.  xxvi.  29. — J  Num.  L  1. — 16. 


128  VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 

In  vain  they  wished,  in  spite  of  quails  and  bread, 
Which  heaven   in   rich    abundance   freely   shed, 
That  they  had  all   remained  in  Egypt's  land, 
Where  hardened  Pharaoh  ruled  with  iron  hand. 
But  still  they  journeyed  on  from  year  to  year, 
And  yet  their  promised  land  did  not  appear. 
Then  God  directed  Moses  in  this  wise — 
"Go  seek  the  promised  land  by  sending  spies.1" 
Thus  twelve  departed,  one  from  every  band, 
To  search  for  "  Canaan's  fair  and  happy  land !" 
For  forty  days  they  sought    but   all    in  vain  ; 
When  each  returned  to  Israel's  tribe  again. 
A  part  described  a  land  of  milk  and  honey; 
With  cities  large  that  cost  a  "mint  of  money." 
But  all  the  rest  declared  that  "giants  large, 
Ate  human  flesh — the  subjects  of  their  charge ; 
If  we  should  fall  within  their  ruling  power, 
Our  armies  would  be  swallowed  in  an  hour."1 

With  these  reports  conflicting  in  their  ears, 

1 N  um.  xiii. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 


Amid  their  hopes,  arose  perplexing  fears  ; 
And  all  the  night  the  congregation  cried  — 
"  Oh,  would  that  we  had  all  in  Egypt  died  ! 
We'll  make  another  captain  and  return." 
Thus  did  their  murmuring  hearts  for  Egypt  burn.1 

God    now    in    wrath    rebukes    these    homesick 

souls, 

And  like  an  avalanche  His  anger  rolls; 
And  threatens  with  a  pestilential  stroke, 
To  disinherit  all  who  thus  provoke.2 

Again  the  meek  high  priest,  as  oft  before. 
Approached    the    Lord,  and    thus    he   did    im- 

plore : 

"  If  Thou  do  thus,  all  Egypt  then  will  hear, 
And  speak  of  it  in  everybody's  ear  ; 
For   they   have  heard  of  Thee  throughout   the 

place, 
And  of  my  talking  with  Thee  face  to  face; 

1  Num.  xiv.  1-4.—  2xiv.  11,  12. 
e* 


130  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

And  of  the  cloud  that  led  them  forth  by  day, 
And  fire  by  night  to  light  their  darkened  way. 
Now  if  Thou  slay  them  all,  where  is  Thy  fame 
Among  the  people  who  have  heard  Thy  name '{ 
They  then  will  say,  what  God  had  sworn  to  do, 
He  failed  for  want  of  power  and  wisdom  too ; 
And  as  He  could  not  lead  them  in  His  way, 
To  stop  defeat,  He  did  all  Israel  slay."1 

This  flattering    speech   was   all    that    then   was 

needed, 
For  to  it  all  God  willingly  acceded.2 

So  Israel  journeyed  on  to  Edom's  land, 

And  fought   their  way  with   bloody   sword    in 

hand  : 

But  much  disheartened  for  the  want  of  meat, 
And  having  naught  but  loathsome  bread  to  eat. 
It  was  not  strange  that  they  should  now  com 

plain, 

'Num.  xiv.  13-17.— Jxiv.  20. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  \%\ 

Wheu   God   could  send  them   bread  and  quails 

like  rain, 

And  thus  relieve  them  in  their  starving  plight, 
They  having  served  the  Lord  in  every  fight: 
While  hunger  gnawed  'twas  human  to  com 

plain, 

Yet  all  their  bitter  cries  and  tears  were  vain, 
For  God,  instead  of  granting  their  desire, 
Sent  poison  serpents,  made  of  naming  fire. 

"While  thus  tormented,  and  with  sinking  heart, 
They  prayed  the  heinous  reptiles  might  depart; 
But  no — God  let  the  vampires  live  arid  bite; 
They   did    His    work,   which   gave    Him    great 

delight  i1 
For  though  they  brought  but  death   and   dark 

despair, 

'Twas  sweet  revenge  to  force  the  bill  of  fare: 
And  did  not  practice  what  He  since  hath  said, 
"If  foes  are  hungered,  let  them  all  be  fed."3 

1  Num.  xxi.  6.—"  Rom.  xii.  20. 


132  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Amid  their  torment  and  distressing  fear, 
All   prayers  were  vain,  that  snakes   might  dis- 
appear ; 

Yet  God  but  mocks  their  agonizing  prayer, 
And  hangs  a  brazen  serpent  high  in  air ; 
That  all  that  snakes  had  bitten  might,  alas  I 
Yet  live,  by  seeing  Satan  cut  in  brass  I 
But  stranger  still,  the  image  of  the  devil, 
Is    foreordained,  to  rescue  man  from  evil ! 
Thus  Satan's  form  before  so  much  despised, 
God  now  respects;    this  can  not  be  disguised.1 

But  Israel  fought  their  passage  day  by  day, 
And  paved  with  human  skulls  their  winding  way  ; 
The  crimson  tide  yet  stains  the  "  sacred  page," 
While  God  ignites  the  flames  of  deathly  rage : 
Yea,  human  slaughter,  forced  by  His  decree, 
Baptizes  earth  amid  a  bloody  sea. 
Read  but  the  page     how    Midian's  hosts  were 
slain, 

'  Num.  xxi.  7-10. 


VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION.  133 

And     death's    dark     mantle     veiled     the    gory 

plain  ; 

Where  every  male,  from  hoary  age  to  youth, 
Was  murdered  in  the  name  of  God  and  truth;1 
And  every  female  who  had  known  a  man, 
Was  doomed  to  die,  by  God's  remorseless  plan  . 
Though   her   warm    love  in   one    pure   channel 

flowed, 

And  by  a  holy  union  was  bestowed,2 
Affection  deep  availed  no  more  than  hate, 
For  every  loving  wife  but  shared  the  fate 
To  swell  the  bloody  wave,  the  lukewarm  tide, 
While  God  beheld  the  scene  and  did  preside. 
But   this    is    not   the  whole,  though    dark    the 

tale ; 

Oh,  would  that  pen  could  penetrate  the  veil, 
Disclose  the   wrongs   that  broke  poor  woman's 

heart, 
Exposed    her    shame,    with   none    to   take    her 

part. 

Num.  xxx!.  7.—'  xxxi.  17. 


134  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

Each  virgin   was  disrobed  by  bloody  sires, 
To  gratify  their  lusts  and  base  desires ! 
For  every  woman  who  knew  not  a  man, 
Was  doomed  to  live  by  this  licentious  clan, 
And  made  to  suffer  shame  to  such  degree, 
That    death    in    mercy    would    have    set    them 

free  I1 

Yet  God  commanded  and  enforced  the  deeds, 
If  He  be  not  misjudged,  for  thus  it  reads, 
And    shared    with    them    the    booty    and    the 

glory,— 

Thus  ends  this  false  and  inconsistent  story. 
With  more  than  thirty  thousand  virgins  spared, 
God     two    from    every    thousand     with     them 

shared  ! 2 

Of  all  the  sheep,  almost  a  countless  throng, 
His       rightful     portion    was    twelve    thousand 

strong. 3 

Large   herds   of  cattle   stand   in   open   view, 
Of  which   the   Lord   accepted   thirty-two,4 

1  Num.  xxxi.  18. — "xxxi.  40. — 3xxxi.  37. — 4  xxxi.  38. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  13g 

The  asses  next  divided,  all   was  done, 
God's  share   of  these   was  only   sixty-one.1 

Fair  Canaan's  race  next  feels  celestial  wrath, 
And  sure  destruction  follows  in  their  path. 
All  who  survive.  His  vengeance  will  destroy, 
"With  stinging  hornets  giving  Israel  joy.1 

Next  comes  Grod's  lesson   in  unwholesome  meat. 
Instructing   Israel   what  they   should   not   eat; 
"  Of  beasts  that  die  of  poison   or   disease 
If  you   should   eat  'twill   kill   by  slow   degrees 
But  give  or  sell    for    food    to  passers-by, 
To  strangers  in  the  gate,  though  they  may  die  1 
For  thou  so  holy   to   the  Lord   thy   God, 
May  poison   any  stranger  from  abroad."5 

The  Lord  now  seems  to  love  His  chosen  race, 
Calls  them  a  holy  people  to  their  face. 

1  Num.  ixxi.  39. — aDeut.  vii.  20. — 3xiv.  21. 

4  I  was  a  stranger  and  ye  took  me  In  1 — Mat.  xxv.  85. 


136  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

How   changed    in  tone    from   passage  near   at 

hand, 

Where  God  to  Moses  issues  a  command, 
"To  take  His  chosen  leaders  every  one, 
And  hang  their  heads  on  high  against  the 

sun — 

Before   His   face,  to  hang   no   other   way, 
That   His  fierce  anger  might  not  longer  stay."  1 
If  this   command   was   really   obeyed, 
And   every  head   against   the   sun   was   staid, 

«/  O  J 

Their  heads   and   necks   (as   they  survived    the 

shock) 

Must  have   been   made   of  quite  superior  stock. 
Be   as  it   may,  if  God  from  wrath   was   cured 
By  this   device,   the  pain   was   well   endured. 
But   as   we  turn  our   eyes   from   page   to  page, 
He  yet  is  armed  with  stern  vindictive  rage, 
Possessing  passions  of  a  demon  dire, 
A  jealous   God   with-  anger   mixed   with   fire.' 
With  flames  decending  to  the  lowest  hell, 

1  Num.  xxv.  4. — *  Dent,  xxxii.  21. 
6* 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  137 

Now    dooms    His    children    He    had    loved    so 

well: 

Heaps  mischief  on  them  all,  with  arrows  sped, 
To  fly   at  random   from  his  storming   head. 
His  anger  still  with  wild  excitement  burns,1 
On   every   phase   of  human   life  it  turns, 
Devouring  hunger,  and  the  flames  of  heat, 
With  bitter  death  doth  all  their  hopes  defeat; 
The  teeth  of  beasts  shall  come  upon  them  all, 
And    poison     serpents    round     them     bite   and 

crawl. 

The  sword  of  death  no  age  nor  station  spares, 
Young  men    nor  maidens,  sucklings,   nor  gray 

hairs.2 

But  Moses  now,   with  Canaan   full   in   view, 
With   one   fond   look,  must  bid   the  land  adieu. 
The  dropping  sands  of  time  through  weary  years, 
With   blighted  hopes   and   mingled   doubts  and 
fears, 

1  Dout  xixii  22   23.— 'xxxii.  24,  25. 


£38  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

Have  chilled  the   hlood   that    fired  his   youthful 

hand, 

And  changed   his   footsteps   to    a   better  land. 
Thus  Moses  yielded    up  his  mortal   life, 
And  bid   adieu   to  that   dark   age  of  strife.1 

So  ended  Moses  and  his  sad  career; 
But  now  his  bold   successor  doth   appear, 
To  lead   the  tribes  in   their  appointed   way, 
The   son   of  JSTun,   whose  name   was   Joshua.2 
While  thus  commissioned  with  command  entire, 
He  sent  two  spies  full  knowledge  to  acquire. 
To  Jericho   they   quickly   did   repair, 
And  with  a  harlot  took  their  lodgings   there.1 

As  men  are  judged  by  company   they  keep, 
The  king  concluded   he  would   take  a  peep 
At  these  suspicious  men,  who  pleasure  sought, 
Where   empty   bubbles   are  so   dearly   bought. 
But  Rahab   (being  such   the  harlot's   name) 

1  Deut.  xxxiv.  1,  5. — *  Josh.  i. — *  ii.  1. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  ^39 

Concluded   slie   would   foil   him  in   his  game, 
And  told   the   king    the  men    had  gone  their 

way- 
Passed  through   the  gate,  when  evening  closed 

the   day. 

She  now  to  make  them  safe  her  wits  did  tax, 
And   hid   them   on   the   roof  among  the  flax.1 

When     twilight    shadows    veiled     the    distant 

plain, 

And   hung  their   sable  curtains   o'er  the   main, 
"When   all  was  hushed   in   quiet  peaceful  rest, 
"Except  the  throbbings   of  her  anxious  breast, 
She  went  upon   the  roof  without   a  fear, 
That  capped  the  borders  of  the   city  here, 
With  cord  in  hand — with  muscles  firm  and  true 
She  let   them   down,   their  journey   to  pursue.3 
They  safely  wound  their  way  to  Israel's  tribes; 
Their    three     days'    mountain     range     no     pen 

describes. 

1  Josh.  ii.  2-6.—  Mi.  15. 


14:0  VJQICE   OF   SUPERSTITION. 

To  Joshua  they  did  enough  reveal, 

To  fire  his  passions  with  unholy  zeal. 

Who,    with    his    tribes    faced    Jordan's    rolling 

tide, 

Its  deep  intruding  waters  he  defied. 
The  priests,  with  ark  of  covenant  before, 
Walked  through  dry  shod,  and  reached  the  other 

shore ; 

The  hosts  of  Israel  followed  one  and  all, 
While  Jordan,  like  an  adamantine  wall, 
Piled  high  its  limpid  waves  without  a  fall! 
Thus   safely  marched    the   tribes  from   shore  to 

shore, 
Like  passing  through  the  space  where  swings 

a  door.1 

To   make  this  record   true   among  the  nations 
In  coming  years  to  future  generations, 
They  took  twelve  stones  from  out  the   channel 
deep, 

1  Josh.  iii. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  \±\ 

And  loft  them  where  they  tarried  first  to  sleep ; 

The  stones  should  there  remain,  as  proof  for- 
ever, 

To  mark  the  spot  where  Israel  crossed  the 
river.1 

This  wondrous  tale  we  may  believe  or  not, 

For  who  hath  seen  the  stones,  or  found  the  spot ! 

Ordained  of  God  to  wade  in  human  gore, 
His    vengeance    feasted  now,  as  oft  before ; 
Men,  women,  children,  aged,  all  were  slain,2 
Their  supplications  rent  the  air  in  vain. 
But  there  was  one  more  favored  than  the  rest, 
Whom  Joshua  and  all  his  legions  blest ; 
Her  life  was  guarded  well  with  anxious  care, 
While  carnage  hushed  the  wailings  of  despair.' 
And  yet  this  favored  one,  oh,  strange  to  tell, 
Was  but  a  prostitute  they  loved  so  well. 
God  chose  these  tribes  to  represent  His  will, 
They  chose  a  harlot,  and  He  loved  them  still, 

1  Josh.  iv.  3-9.— *  vi.  21.— s  21-25. 


142  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION'. 

And  yet  sustained  this  base  and  cruel  throng, 
Whose  deeds  are  praised  in  story  and  in  song,1 
This  mighty  army  under  God's  command, 
Was  first  on  earth  that  had  a  music-band, 
Composed  of  priests,  with  rams'  horns  seven  of 

each, 

Enough  all  tones  in  music's  scale  to  reach. 
This  frightful  chorus  led  the  winding  way, 
And  round  and  round  the  city  walls  did  play; 
For    seven    long    days    they   blew    their    awful 

blast, 
While  on  the  seventh,  they  seven  times  round 

it  passed; 
With   thirteen   rounds   they   rent   the   burdened 

air, 

Like  frenzied  fiends  from  regions  of   despair ; 
No  wonder  that  the  walls  of  Jericho. 
In  their  imploring  attitude  laid  low.2 
Though    they    defied    the     gnawing    tooth     01 

time, 

1  Josh.  xxi.  II.—'1  vi.  13-20. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  [43 

They  bowed  submissive  at  this  awful  chime ! 
Then    leaped    these    thirsty    tribes    for    human 

blood 
Within  the  walls  where  this  doomed  city  stood, 

INTERLUDE. 

(Oh,  can  it  be  that  men  revere    the   page, 

And   take  their  lessons  from   that  barbarous  age, 

Where  God  lays  bare  His  arm  from  shore  to  shore, 

That  men  may  murder  those  unknown  before, 

And   save  the  only   one  they  ever  knew — 

A   harlot,  for  that  vile,   licentious   crew, 

Yet  represents  that  God  sustains  it  all, 

Though  by  their  hands  all  but  herself  may   fall  ? 

I  may  believe  that  rams'  horns  shook  the  ground, 

That  massive   walls  from   their  foundation   bound, 

Or  that  the  earth  itself  turned  inside  out, 

When  priests  with   rams'  horns  mingled  in  the  shout, 

But  never  can  I  entertain  the  thought, 

A   "God  of    love"    these  horrid  scenes  hath  wrought.) 

But  deeds  of  death  still  paint  the  page, 
And  God  of  Israel,  full  of  rage, 
Yet  urges  on  His  heartless  band, 


144  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

To  desolate  that  happy  land. 

To  Ai  next  the  Lord  said,  Go, 

And  shroud  the  land  in  death  and  woe, 

As  dark  as  htins:  o'er  Jericho. 

O 

Thus  thirty  thousand  armed  for  fight, 
By  Joshua  were  sent  at  night ; 
And  by  a  bold  strategic  plan, 
They  took  the  life  of  every  man, 
Except  the  king,  they  saved  alive, 
But  if  he  had  a  hope  revive, 
They  soon  the  rising  impulse  checked, 
And  showed  him  what  he  might  expect  j 
They  hung  him  high  upon  a  tree, 
The  first  that  they  perchance  did  see.1 

The  Gibeonites  with  one  accord,2 

Now  joined  with  Israel  and  the  Lord, 

To  save  their  royal  cities  strong, 

That  they  their  lives  might  thus  prolong. 

Five  kings  then  made  their  armies  one, 

1  Josh.  viii.  28,  29. — a  ix. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  \4$ 

Declaring  war  on  Gibeon : 

In  Lopes  that  they  with  one  command. 

Might  make  a  strong  successful  stand. 

But  Gibeon's  united  host, 

And  Father,   Son,  and  Holy  Ghost 

(If  three  are  one,  and  one  is  three, 

Then  God  alone  is  Trinity), 

With  Joshua  were  all  combined, 

That  desolation  now  might  wind 

Its  fearful  path  among  the  kings, 

To    slay    them    all  like  little  things. 

And  for  this  end,  to  make  it  sure, 

The  Lord  from  heaven,  Himself  secure, 

Sent  down  large  stones  their  blood  to  shed, 

And  strewed  the  ground  with  countless  dead. 

Then  held  the  golden  orb  of  day, 

That  round  our  planet  seems  to  play ; 

Thus  barred  the  sable  veil  of  night, 

While  He  with  pleasure  held  the  light, 

1  Josh.x.  1-11. 
7 


1  J  6  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

To  strengthen  and  protract  the  tight, 

To  see  the  fount  of  human  gore, 

Its  still-increasing  flood  out  pour.1 

The  rolling  waves  extended   wide, 

With  desolation  on  the  tide, 

While  o'er  the  scene  He  did  preside. 

Their  mournful  cries  the  breezes  bore 

"With  sadness  to  the  distant  shore. 

Thus  fell  Makkedah  in  its  bloom, 

And  Libnah,  Gezer,  shared  the  doom, 

While  Eglon,  Hebron,  Debir,  all 

Alike  were  doomed,   alike  did  fall. 

Through  all  the  country  of  the  hills, 

Among  the  vales  and  laughing  rills, 

All  forms  of  life  that  breathed  were  slain, 

In  this  most  dark  and  fearful  reign. '- 

On  details  here  I  need  not  dwell, 
For  pen  can  never  trace  nor  tell 
The  thoughts  that  in  my  bosom  swell : 

1  Josh.  x.  12-14.—'  x.  28-43. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  14.7 

I  can  not  paint  their  deeds  in   rhyme, 
No  more  than  measure  space  and  time. 
And  yet  they  seemed  to  serve  the  Lord, 
Who  blessed  them  with  a  great  reward. 
And  gladly  stayed  the  rolling  sun, 
To  see  their  bloody  work  well  done. 

INTERLUDE. 

(They  knew  not  God,  nor  knew  His  law 
That   moves  all   worlds  without  a  flaw  : 
They  thought  the   earth   on   pillars  stood,1 
That  ever  held  it  firm  and  good ; 
But  never  seemed   to  think   it  best, 
To  tell  on  what  the  pillars  rest. 
They  thought  the  sun  that  decks  the  sky, 
In  all  his  majesty   on  high, 
Revolved  in  his  appointed  way, 
Around  the  earth  by   night  and   day  ; 
Ne'er  dreaming  that  the  sun  stood  still, 
And  earth   revolved   with  matchless  skill. 
They  thought  the  stellar  worlds  of  light 
That  cheer  the   silent  hours  of  night, 
Were  made  in   feeble   light  to  burn, 

1  ]  Sam.  ii.  8. 


Ii3  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

To  serve  our  purpose  in  their  turn. 
They  thought  that   God  who    rules   above, 
With   truth   and    wisdom,    peace    and   love, 
Who  hath   but  one   revokeless  aim, 
Through    all    eternity    the    same, 
Was  but  the  servant  of  their  race, 
Who  talked  with  Moses  face  to  face, 
And  would  defend  his  wayward  seed, 
And  share  with  them  each  wicked  deed. 
Though  dark  this  age,  let  joy  awake, 
That  some  have  learned  their  sad  mistake.) 


Now  Joshua,  the  son   of  Nun,1 
Who   did  presume  to  hold  the  sun, 
Could   not  revoke  time's   onward  tide, 
And   at   five-score  and  ten  he  died : 
While  Judah  next,  at   God's   command, 
Was  made  the  ruler  of  the  land.2 

May  we  not  hope  for  better   days? 
That  peace  may  shed  her  genial  rays? 
And  deeds  of  love  each  soul   employ, 

1  Josh.  xxv.  29.-  -"  Jud   i.  2. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  14-g 

To  light   their   future  paths  with  joy? 
But,  lo !    a  dark  and  frowning  page 
Reveals  a  God  yet  full  of  rage, 
Who  pours  the  caldrons  of  His  wrath, 
And  fills  with   death  fair  Canaan's  path. 
The   early  record  of  his  reign, 
Bears  witness  of  ten   thousand  slain  : 
Of  those  not  numbered   with   the  dead, 
Were  seventy  kings,   who  quickly  fled  ; 
But   they  were  not  allowed  repose, 
But  were  deprived   of  thumbs   and  toes,1 
Which  were   cut   off  in   their  retreat, 
And  gathered   up   in   piles  of  meat. 
For  all  these  deeds  God  was  delighted, 
And  by  Himself  they  were  requited.2 

With  God's  approval  thus  elated, 
His   bloody  reign  was  not  abated ; 
But  quickly  with   his  fiendish  crew, 
He  every  soul  at  Zephath  slew  ;8 

»  Jud.  i.  4.—'  i.  7.—'  i.  17. 


150  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Then  wound   his   way   along   the   coast,1 
With  his   infernal    bloodj  host; 
And   Gaza,  Ekron,  Askelon, 
Were  rendered  hopeless  and  forlorn. 
They  scaled  the  rugged  mountain  height,5 
And  chased  the  people  in    their  flight; 
The  Lord  was  with  them  day  by  day, 
To  scatter  death  along  their  way. 

When  God  and  Judah  reached  the  valley, 
They  found  the  people  there  to  rally ; 
With  iron  chariots  now  at   hand, 
They  made  a  bold  successful  stand,8 
Defying  all  the  Lord's  command. 
In  deeds  of  death  until  this  hour, 
While  seeming  leagued  with  Satan's  power, 
No  force  or  bars  impede  their  way, 
To  check  their  passage  night  or  day; 
The  rolling   deep    subdued   his   wrath, 
And   bared  his   bosom  for  their   path; 

1  Jud.  i.  18.— M.  19.— 'i.19. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  15] 

"While  Jordan's   dark  resistless  tide, 

Was  in   their    pathway   quickly   dried, 

And   stood   a  wall  on  either  side; 

The  sturdy   walls  of   Jericho, 

Were  by   the   breath   of  priests  laid  low; 

The  golden   orb  that  rules   the  day, 

Was  forced  his  journey  to  delay ; 

While  sighs   and  groans  of  thousands  slain, 

Commingled   in   their  onward   train : 

Thus  Hind  success  would    seem  to  say, 

All  forces  must  their  will  obey. 

But   Satan,  gorged   with    sin   and  blood, 

Resolved  to  stay  the  swelling  flood, 

And  by  his  tactics  kindly  planned, 

To  bless  with   peace   the    stricken   land: 

His  schemes  so   clouded   by  disguise, 

That  God   was  taken  by  surprise. 

Thus  iron  chariots   now  defied 

All    Israel's   force   and   God   beside. 

And    once    again   He  is    defeated, 

Which   had   so   often  been   repeated. 


152  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

INTERLUDE. 

(If  they  with  God   could  not  approach, 
That  ancient,  iron,  one-horse   coach, 
What  could  they  do  'gainst  Yankee  lads, 
With  Parrott  guns  and  iron-clads?) 

By  this  defeat  the    contest  was  suspended, 
All  hope  to  rule  the  Canaanites  seemed  ended ; 
And  Israel's    tribes  were    left    to    choose    their 

way, 

To  serve  the   Lord,  or  other  gods   obey. 
Once  free  to  act,  they  mingled  with  their  foes, 
While  peace   and    concord   soon  dispelled  their 

woes. 

They  left  the   God   of   battle  and  defeat, 
That  He  might  not  His  deeds  of  death  repeat : 
The  battle-cry  was  hushed,   no  fierce  alarm 
Disturbed   the   day,   no   nightly   foes   to   harm ; 
But  peace    now  smiles   with   unmistaken   love, 
And  joy   awakes  like  joys   that  are  above.1 

1  Judges  i.  3-6. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  153 

They  took  each  other's  daughters  and  their  sons, 
And  bound  their  union  with  their  little  ones ; 
A   happy   change   delights  each  passing  hour; 
No  angry  God   usurps   vindictive  power. 
Who  then   can  blame   them  in  this  happy  day, 
If  Israelis  God  they  chose  to  disobey? 
A  God  who  evil  did  Himself  create ; 
Chose  lying  spirits  in   their  dark   estate, 
To  execute   His  base   and  dire   control 
Upon   an   unoffending  harmless  soul; 
Thus  giving  license  to   the  powers  of  evil, 
And    doing    work    that    ought    to    shame    the 
Devil. 

Honest  reader  do    not  chide  me, 
For  the  Bible  is  beside  me, 
And  I  will  transcribe  with  care, 
Giving  verse  and  chapter  there. 

The  Lord  was  seated  on  His  throne  most  high, 

1 1  King?,  xxii.  19-22. 

7* 


154  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

And  all  the  heavenly  hosts  were  passing  by, 
While  thus   unto   the  people  He  did   call: 
"  Who  will  persuade  Ahab  that  he  may  fall  ?'' 
One  and  another  in  their  way  replied, 
But  one  and   all   alike   were   each   denied; 
Until   a  lying  spirit  came   and   stood, 
In   vile    audacity  before  the   Lord, 
Yet  on  the  Lord  such  good  impression  made, 
He  put   all  other  applicants  in  shade: 
For  he  assured   the   Lord   that  he   would   lie., 
And   to   His   prophets   would   the   truth   deny: 
The  Lord   delighted,  said,  "Thou   wilt  prevail, 
Go  forth  with  lying  tongue  thou  shalt  not  fail !  ' 

While    thus    the     Lord    was    moved    in    the 

direction 

Of  having  for   a  liar  such   affection, 
He  all   His   prophets'  months  at   once   did   till ' 
With   lying   spirits   who   obeyed   His   will. 
God  gave  unholy  statutes  to  deceive, 

1  Kings,  xxiL  23. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  155 

And   judgments  under  which    they    could    not 

live. 

And   David,  said   to   be  of  God's  own  heart, 
As  such  in  cruel  deeds  performed  his  part, 
By  forcing  Ammon's  children,  without  cause, 
Beneath  the  teeth  of  harrows  and  of  saws.1 
Their  reeking  flesh  next  met  the  iron  ax, 
Then    in    the   kilns    of   fire   were    burned    like 

flax;3 

All   Ammon's   cities  shared   this  horrid   fate, 
Which     pen     can    never     paint      nor     tonguo 

relate. 

-JSTo  line  or   word   of  censure  can  we  trace, 
In  its   connection,   or  in   any  place. 
Thus  David   acted  his  ignoble  part, 
And    proved    himself  "  a    man    of   God's  own 

heart."1 

Again  I   ask,  "Who,  then   can   blame 
A  nation  bowed  with  grief, 

1  2  Sam   xii.  31.—  *  1  Chroa  xx.  2,  3.— 'Acts,  xiii.  22. 


156  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

For  seeking  gods   of  higher   aim, 
To  find   with  them   relief, 

Where  peace  might  smooth   their   thrwny  path, 

And   light  some  joyous   way ; 
Where  kindly  words   displacing   wrath, 

Might  cheer  them  day  by  day? 

But  sad  their  hopes,  how  quickly  turned 

Their  day  to  dismal  night; 
For  Godly  wrath  yet  hotly  burned, 

With  its  vindictive   might. 

God  sold  them  to  their  foes  for  slaves,1 
Where  lingering  hope   might   die ; 

Then  tortured  them   to  death's  dark  waves, 
And  scorned  their  bitter   cry. 

Thus  Abraham's  "unnumbered"  race, 
God's  loved  and  chosen  seed, 

'Judges,  ii.  14;  x.  7. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  157 

To   people   every  land  and  place, 
The  ensign   of  His  creed, 

Are  now  abandoned  to  their  fate, 
Nay  more — to  meet  His  wrath, 

With   maledictions  of  His  hate, 
Converging  in  their  path. 

Thus  God's  great  plan  hath  wholly  failed, 

Which  clearly  is  revealed; 
His  rival  having  e'er  prevailed 

In   each   contested  field. 

Thus  Satan,  with  unnumbered  throng, 

Embracing   tribes   and  nations, 
God's  former  hope,  His  joy  and  song, 

Of  many  generations, 

Are  now  within   the  Devil's  clasp, 

Obedient  to  his  will, 
Who  holds   them   all   within  his  grasp, 

His  purpose  to  fulfill. 


158  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

And  yet  it  seems   a  peaceful  reign 
Would  be  the  Devil's   choice; 

If  undisturbed   he   could  remain, 
And  none   oppose  his   voice ; 

For   who   can  read  that  he  hath   waged 

A    war   on    any   nation  ? 
Or  even  hath  his  foes  outraged, 

In   any   generation  ? 

But   like   a   worthy,    peaceful   king, 
"Whose  throne  seemed  quite  unshaken. 

Devised   the  good   and  useful  thing, 
To  have  the  census  taken. 

King   David  yielded   his   command 

With   cheerful   resignation, 
And   freely   gave   his   willing  hand 

To   Satan's  wise   vocation. 

Thus  David  numbered  Israel's  seed — * 

1  1  Chron.  xxi.  1,  2  ;  xxvii.  2. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  15& 

This  sore  afflicted  race, 
By  which  he  saw  who  v/ere  in  need, 
Or  had  no  resting  place. 

An  act  that  nations  justify, 

Where  civil  laws  prevail, 
Of  which  their  records  testify ; 

Then  why  should  God  bewail? 

Though  Satan  took  the  census  first, 

Should  envious  hate  pursue  it  ? 
Whate'er  is  good,  should  not  be  cursed, 

No  matter  who  may  do  it. 

But  David  well  performed  his  part, 

While  servant  of  the  Devil  ; 
And  numbered  all  with  cheerful  heart, 

Without  apparent  evil. 

No  doubt  he  loved  his  new  employ, 
For  which  he  had  great  cause; 


160  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

For  righteous  deeds  bring  peace  and  joy, 
Compared  to  kilns  and  saws 

By  which  he  murdered  helpless  man, 

Impelled  by  God's  intent, 
As  part  of  His  vindictive  plan 

To  torture  and  torment. 

God's  former  host,  and  chosen  seed, 

Were  few  and  far  between, 
"While  those  who  were  to  take  the  lead, 

With  open  foes  were  seen. 

Yet  God  to  make  his  numbers  great,1 

Called  every  man  a  hundred ; 
Which  makes  it  plain  why  He  should  hate 

To  have  them  rightly  numbered. 

For  which  He  was  so  much  displeased, 
His  vengeance  spoke  again, 

1  1  01  iron.  xxi.  3. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  Iflj 

By  blood  would  only  be  appeased, 
To  flood  the  earth,  like  rain. 

Three  forms  of  death  from  which  to  choose,1 

Laid  David  in  great  strait, 
For  he  could  only  two  refuse, 

Hence  one  must  be  his  fate. 

First,  three  years'  famine  in  the  land, 

With  starving,  ling'ring  death ; 
Or  die  by  foes  with  sword  in  hand, 

With  three  years'  lease  on  breath; 

Or  three  days'  vengeance  of  the  Lord, 

Throughout  fair  Israel's  coast, 
Or  pestilence  so  wide  and  broad, 

Of  which  a  fiend  could  boast. 

He  soon  decides,  though  in  a  strait,* 
Within  God's  hands  to  fall ; 

1 1  Chroii.  xxi.  10.— "  xxi.  13. 


162  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

In  hope  that  mercies  very  great, 
Might  save  himself  and  all. 

But  hope  for  mercy  was  in  vain,1 

For  pestilential  ire 
Baptizes  seventy  thousand  slain, 

Fulfilling  God's  desire. 

An   angel   next  in   God's  command, 
Commissioned  with  His  wrath, 

Came  down   to  desolate  the  land, 
And   darken  every  path. 

Jerusalem  in  all  its  pride, 

"Was  also  doomed  to  fall; 
Her  streets  to  bear  a  crimson  tide, 

And  float  a  funeral  pall. 

But  David  now  their  cause  did  plead,' 
And   said  it   was  not  they, 

1  1  Chroii.  xxl  14. — '  ixi.  1&-17. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  ]63 

"Who  counted  Israel's  wayward  seed, 
Then  why  this  people  slay? 

'Twas  I  who  numbered  Israel's  race, 

Slay  me,  if  any  one; 
Or  strike  my  father's  resting  place, 

For  justice  should  be  done. 

This  little  speech  assuaged  the  Lord, 

Who  now  perceived  His  error, 
His  angel  sheathed  his  thirsty  sword, 

And  calmed  the  raging  terror. 

Thus  while  the  wailings  of  despair 

Were  being  hushed  in  death, 
God's  voice  electrifies  the  air 

With  warm  repenting  breath. 

At  once  He  gave  the  countermand,1 
Revoking  His  decree, 

1 J  Chron.  ixi.  15. 


164  VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION: 

"It  is  enough,  stay  now  thy  hand, 
And  set  the  remnant  free." 


Thus  God  miscounts,  decrees,  abates, 

Repents  of  maddened  rage, 
And  clusters  these  conflicting  traits, 

On  one  recorded  page. 

INTERLUDE. 

(O  God   of  love — the  Father  of  the   race, 
Whose   kindly   care   pervades  all  time  and  space, 
Whose    will   is   law,   through   all    extent   the   same, 
Whose   law    is  changeless   as   Thy    holy  name; 
Whose   throne   and   central    point   is    everywhere ; 
Who   giveth  unto  each   Thy   constant   care ; 
Teach  us  to  know,  and  love  Thee  as  Thou  art; 
That   Thou   canst  not  from   laws    ordained   depart; 
That   plans    matured   ere    time's   old    march    began, 
Are   yet     the   same    unchanged   and    changeless   plan 
That  worlds  and  systems  in  their  wondrous  rounds, 
Have  their  rotation,  circuit,  laws,  and   bounds ; 
That  every  soul  is  molded  by  Thy  hand; 
Its  being,  end,  and  aim  by  Thee  was  planned; 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  165 

That  all  alike  are  agents  of  Thy  will, 

Thy  grand  design  and  noble  end  fulfill. 

We  love,  O  God !    to  venerate  Thy  name, 

But  feel  that  Moses'  God  is  not  the  same, 

Or  if  the  same,  wert  then    misunderstood 

By  those  who  were  considered  wise  and  good. 

It  seems  that  every  creed  or  tribe  of  earth, 
Conceives  a  god,  and  gives  Him  form  and  birth, 
Possessing  all  the  traits  of  every  tribe ; 
Thus  while  portraying  God,  themselves,   describe ; 
And  as  they  each  advance  in  reason's  light, 
And  have  more  just  conceptions  of  the  right, 
A  god  of  like  improvement  then  appears, 
.Reflecting  still  their  passions,  loves,  and  fears; 
Then  let  us  turn  from  that  benighted  age, 
When  God,  a  jealous  God,  was  fired  with  rage ; 
And  may  diviner  wisdom  from  above, 
Expand  our  souls  to  see  a  God  of  love.) 


But  progress  ever  marks  each  day  and  age, 
And  sheds  some  light  on  Israel's  darkened  page, 
Thus  Jeremiah   in   his  best  estate,1 

iJer.  ii 


166  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

Saw   God  divested   of  His  wrath   and  •  hate ; 
Who   with   a  kind,  expostulating  air, 
Now  pleads  for  Israel  with   a  Father's   care ; 
And   for  a  season   uses  moral  suasion 
To  reinstate   His   wayward  Jewish   nation. 
But  knowing   Him   so   well,   so  long   of  old, 
They  could  with  little  grace  His  plea  behold; 
And   chose  to  lead  a  less  eventful  life, 
Free  from   oppression   and   the  field   of  strife. 

Their  non-compliance  with   the  Lord's  request 
Awoke   the   slumb'ring  anger  in   His   breast, 
And   like   a  lion   from   a  sweet   repose. 
With   fresh  vehemence,  grapples  with  His  foes. 
The  very    thunderbolts   of  heaven   are  hurled, 
To  scourge  the  face  of  a  defenseless  world ; 
The  elements  of  vengeance,  death  and  hate 
(A   fearful   compound   in  the   aggregate), 
Swept  man  and  beast  and  every  thing  around, 
Including   trees,   and  fruit  upon   the  ground.1 

1  Jer.  vii.  10. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  167 

The  voice  of  gladness  and  the  voice  of  mirth, 
No  longer  mingled    round  the   social   hearth ; 
The  bride  and  bridegroom  mutely  shared  the  fate 
Of  lands   and  cities,  all  made  desolate:1 
To  strangers'  arms  their  wives  did  God  condemn, 
And  fields  to  others   to  inherit   them.2 

Ezekiel   next  takes  up  the  sad  refrain, 
While  peace  and  love  evoke  their  gentle  reign  ; 
But  God  resolved  with  sword  of  death  in  hand, 
To  cut  the  good  and  bad  from  off  the  land; 
That   every  soul  may  know  that  He,  the  Lord. 
"Will  not   unto   its  sheath  return   the   sword;3 
His   indignation   on  them  all  will  pour, 
And    blow    His    heated    wrath    from    shore    to 

shore.4 

All  left  of  Israel's  house  He  counts  as  dross; 
Hence  to   consume  them   all   will   be  no  loss  ;8 
And   as  they  gather  silver,   brass,   and   tin, 
And   with   a  furnace   melt  it  deep  within, 

1  Jer.  vii.  34.—"  viii.  7.--3  Ezek.  x:d.  3-5.— 4  xxi.  31.—'  xxii.  13 


168  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

So  will  He  gather  them   with  vengeance   dire, 
And     blast      them      with      unceasing     flaming 

fire; 

And   when  these  elements  of  death   are   felt, 
He  then  will  leave  them  in  the  flames  to  melt. 
That  they  may  know  that  He,  the  Lord,   doth 

pour 
His  fury  on  them  as  in  days   of  yore.1 

Fair    Zidon    next  shall  bathe  in  human   blood, 
That  He,  the  Lord,  may  there  be  understood.2 

The  land  of  Egypt  shall  be  desolate, 
And   share  with  others   His  vindictive  hate: 
God  with  a  net,   will   circle  them   around, 
Then  leave  them   all  to  die  upon  the   ground, 
The    fowls  of   heaven,   and    beasts  of   all   the 

earth, 

Of  ev'ry  climate,  longitude,   and  birth, 
Are  all  invited  by  His  fiendish  will, 

1  Ezek.  xxii.  20-23.—"  xxviii.  22,  23. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  169 

From  piles  of  human  flesh  to  eat  their  fill  1 
Who  but  a  demon   could  this  feast  prepare- 
Invite  these  guests  to  such  a  bill  of  fare, 
And    look    with    pleasure    on    such    fell    de- 
spair ? 


INTERLUDE. 

(O  poor,  deluded,  superstitious  men, 

If  Satan  does  the  like,  do  tell  me  when ; 

If  God  is  falsely  charged  in  this  strange  tale, 

Then  own  the  truth,  that  justice  may  prevail. 

Why  hug  delusion,  till  its  rotten  core 

Is  seen,  and  felt,  by  all  who  dare  explore? 

Why  not  defend  the  truth,  and  shame  the  lie, 

And  vindicate  the  ways  of  God  most  high?) 


Sun,  moon,  and  stars  refused  to  give  their  light; 
And  veiled  their  faces  from  the  awful  sight. 
Throughout  the  country  all  that  did  remain, 
Both  man  and  beasts,  were  by  their  maker  slain. 


170  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

When   I,   the   Lord,  make  Egypt   desolate, 
And   scourge   the  land    once   full,   with  famine 

great, 
When    I    shall     smite    all     those    that    therein 

dwell, 
(Of  course    He   sends   their   wayward    souls   to 

hell), 

Then  will  they  know  Me,  as  in  former   days, 
For  none  but   God   this   character  displays.1 

Next   Gog    and    Magog    must    His    vengeanca 

share, 

And   writhe  in   cruel   death   and   dark   despair: 
Without  tribunal   or   assigning   cause, 
God   forces  iron  hooks   into   their  jaws  ; 
Then  follow  deeds  that  demons  should  despise, 
To  sanctify  His   name   before   their  eyes. 
Oh,   who   can  estimate  the  blood   He  shed, 
When    seven   long    months   would  scarce  intei 

the   dead  ! 

1  Ezek.  xxxii.  3-16. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  171 

"Thus  will   His  holy  name   be   magnified," 
And  by   a  nation's   murder  "  sanctified," 
And  boasts  of  being  Israel's  Holy  One, 
While  by  these  deeds  He   makes   Himself  thus 

known  j1 
For    by    His     fruits    must    God    Himself   be 

seen, 
As     all     are     judged     from    peasant    to    the 

queen. 

But  many   heinous  deeds  I  mnst  pass  o'er, 
And   leap  6ale    quagmires    filled   with    human 

gore. 

INTERLUDE. 

(O   ye   blind   guides,    pray   tell    me,    if  you    can, 
Where   Satan   ever   sought   the   life   of  man? 
Much    less   to   torture   with    vindictive   wrath, 
And    scatter   death   through  every    winding   path. 
But   God    of   Moses   whom  you   each  defend, 
As   man's   all-loving   and    eternal    friend, 
You    all    declare    made    earth    a   vale    of  tears 

1  Ezek.  xxxviii,  xxxix. 


172  VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION. 

And     filled     each     soul     with     dismal     doubts     and 

fears ; 

Hath    doomed   mankind   to    an   eternal   hell, 
In    writhing   torment   evermore   to    dwell ; 
That   God   in   wrath    will    fan   the   fiery   coals, 
While   age    on    age   in    long    succession    rolls. 
Where   nameless  tortures   never,  never   cease, 
But  through    unending   ages    will    increase. 
And   yet   you    say    a   Father,   just   and   kind, 
Controls  the   whole,   and   fashions   every   mind. 
O   thoughtless   man !   to  reason's   voice  incline, 
Discard   the   conflict    with    God's   love    divine; 
And   see   for   once   through  superstition's   night, 
That     He     who   made     the   whole,   made   all     things 

right ; 

That   by   His   wisdom,   power,   and   changeless  will, 
All   nature   moves   His   mission   to   fulfill ! 

But   as  the   record   stands,   'tis   plain   to  see, 
That  Satan   ever  holds   supremacy ; 
That   all    God's    chosen    ones  of  every   birth, 
By    Him    selected  to   replenish   earth, 
Prefer  to   leave  the    constant   field    of  strife, 
And   seek  a   more   congenial,  peaceful   life. 
Thus    God    perceives      through     His     long     bloody 
school, 


VOICE   OF  SUPERSTITION.  173 

That  force  can    never  win,    nor  passion    rule. 

God    now    might   well    indulge  in   thoughts    of  grief, 

And    thus  soliloquize   and   seek   relief: — 

"  What  sad   forebodings  now    engulf   My   soul, 

While    Satan   hath    dominion    o'er   the    whole. 

This   earth   so   fair  in    its  primeval    state, 

Where  thornless   flow'rs   would    bloom    and    vegetal e, 

Where   fadeless  verdure    decked   a  brierless   sod, 

And  man   in   his   perfection   equaled   God, 

Is  all    reversed,   while  sad    and   bitter   years 

Have  made   the  world   a    wilderness    of  tears. 

Must  earth  be    wrested    from    My    fond   embrace, 

And    Satan   rule   and  ruin  all   the   race? 

If  so,  then  other  worlds  that  float  in  space 

May  be  the  victims  of  his  foul  embrace : 

And   vast   creation   in   its   wondrous    whole, 

May   yet   be  subject   to  his   dire   control. 

From  what  is   past,    the    worst  I  may    expect; 

On    seas   of  blood    my   fondest   hopes   are    wrecked 

My   aching   bosom  swells    with   burdened  sighs, 

While   hope,   once  buoyant,  dwindles,  fades,  and   dies. 

O     Earth!      0     Heaven!        Is      there     no     friendly 

power 

To   give   Me   hope   in   this  most   hopeless   hour? 
Are   none   in    sadness   left   to    weep,   or   tell 
That   Satan  rulea   the   whole,   and  peoples   Hell  ? 


174  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

0    Vengeance !    raise    thy    hand,   renew   the  strife, 
And   probe  the  earth    with   thy    relentless   knife!" 

But   now    a   voice   of  love,    from    soul   serene, 

In   gentle   accents   mingles   in    the    scene, 

And  spake: — "My  Father,  spare,  and  in  their  stead 

Let  retribution  fall  upon  my  head: 

I'll    take  upon    Myself  the   form   of   man, 

And   vindicate    Thy    primal,   faultless  plan : 

With    kindly   words    and  many    loving    deeds, 

I'll    fain    adapt    My    life   to    all    their   needs; 

With    love  for   love,   ay,    love   for  those    who  hate, 

I'll  raise    mankind  to    their   primeval   state. 

All   causes   but   produce    their   like    effects, 

As   he    who    soweth   seed   the   same    expects ; 

Hate   comes   of  hate,   while   anger   feeds   its   fire ; 

While  love  for   hate  will   banish  hate's    desire. 

And,    O   My    Father !    I    will    be    to    earth, 

A   man  of  sorrow   and    of  humble    birth, 

The  lowly  walks  of  human  life  I'll  share, 

And  burdens  of  the  poor  and  needy  bear. 

Their  wayward  footsteps  ever  will  attend, 

And   be  their    true,    confiding,    faithful    friend. 

Thus    will    I   hope   their   favor   to    command, 

And   fit   thc-m   for  a   place   at  Thy   right    hand." 

"  My    Son,    Thy    precepts   all  are    new, 


VOICE  OF  SUPERSTITION.  175 

And   yet  they   may  be  good   and   true; 

But   recompensing   love    for   hate, 

My    honor   thus   to   vindicate, 

Is   but   rewarding   evil   deeds ; 

And  yet     You   say   it  soweth   seeds, 

That   will   come   forth   in   after   days, 

And   mend   their  wicked,   winding  ways. 

This  strange   philosophy,  I   own, 

In  all  My  teachings  is  not  known. 

But  as  My  plans  and  powers  have  failed, 

And   sin  and   Satan  have  prevailed, 

I'll  waive  My  prejudice,  and  see 

What  good  or  ill  May  follow  Thee ; 

I'll  give  My  scepter  to  Thy  hand, 

And  yield  to  Thee  supreme  command.") 


In  the  fullness  of  time,  or  ripening  of  years,1 

God's  only  begotten  from  Heaven  appears, 

In    manger  was    born,   where  the    cattle  were 

fed,8 

On  hay  for  a  pillow  He  first  laid  His  head. 
His    advent    thus    humble,    mid    sorrows    and 

tears, 

1  GaL  iv.  4.— 3  Luke  ii.  7. 


176  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Foreshadowed  the  future  of  life's  coining 

The    days  of   His   childhood    and    youth    were 

concealed, 

But  once  until  manhood  His  life  is  revealed  ;* 
At  length  He,  no  longer  obscure  or  disguised, 
Is  by  John  in  the  river  of  Jordan  baptized  :9 
When,  lo !  the  glad  Heavens  were  opened  above, 
The  Spirit  descended  in  form  of  a  dove ; 
A  voice  from  the  arches  resounded,  "My  Son, 
Thou    art    My    beloved,    for    well    hast    Thou 

done  1" 

The  Spirit  from  Heaven,  with  kindness  sincere, 
To  Jesus,  the  Son  of  Jehovah,   drew  near, 
And  now  introduced  Him  to  Satan  of  old, 
That    He    the    great    captain    of    earth    might 

behold. 

They  cordially  met,  and  together  they  walked, 
To  the  top  of  a  mountain  they  journeyed  and 

talked, 
Where  Satan  portrayeth   the  beauties  of  earth, 

1  Luke  ii.  41-52.— *  Mat.  iii.  13-17. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  177 

The  kingdoms  he  conquered,  and  what  he  was 

worth ; 
And   said,    "All   these  riches   are  now  in   Thy 

power, 

If  Thou  wilt  but  serve  me  from  this  very  hour." 
But  Jesus,  revealing  His  force  in  reserve, 
Said  "  Get  thee  behind  me  1  God  only  I  serve." 
Satan  then  left  Him  not  further  entreating, 
With  seeming  defeat  in  this   their   first   meet 

ing.1 

This  great  moral  conquest  gave  hope  to  the 
nations, 

While  angels  greet  Jesus  with  kind  ministra- 
tions.3 

His  mission  so  holy,  I  need  not  relate, 

How  blessings  met  cursings  and  love  followed 
hate. 

That  He  healed  the  infirm,  gave  sight  to  the 
blind ; 

1  Mat.  iv.  1-10.— *  iv.  1L 


178  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

When  falsely  accused,  no  less  loving  and  kind ; 
How  enemies  scorned  Him,  derided  and  railed, 
And  many  who  loved  Him,  when  needed  most, 

failed. 
But    such    was   His    life   in    its    meekness  and 

worth, 

It  seemed  to  surpass  all  examples  of  earth. 
The  good  seed  thus  scattered  by  love's  willing 

hand, 

Seemed  fruitful  to  bless  and  encompass  the  land ; 
And  in  its  rich  harvest  abundance  to  yield, 
"While    nations    were    reapers,   this    planet    one 

field. 

But  sad  the  result,  as  the  record  appears, 
The  seed  sown  in  love  and  thus  watered  with 

tears, 
Was  plucked  from  earth's  bosom  before  it  gave 

birth, 

By  Satan  who  sought  the  dominion   of  earth. 
Thus    thwarted    the    purpose    of    Father    and 

Son, 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  179 

For  what   he   destroyed  was  a  hundred  to  one.1 

The  contest  waxed  stronger,  while  day  unto  day, 
The  foes  of  Jehovah  bore  conquering  sway ; 
And  all  the  apostles  with  Christ  were  assailed, 
While   chief  priests,  in  league  with   the   Devil, 

prevailed. 

Though,  great  were  the  efforts  of  Father  and  Son, 
The  conquest  by  Satan  seemed  easily  won. 
Christ's  wicked  accusers  were  God's  chosen  seed, 
Still  led  by  the  Devil,  performed  the  dark  deed. 
And  Judas  was  ready  at  Satan's  command, 
For  thirty  small  pieces  of  silver  in  hand, 
With    a    kiss    to    betray,    and    place    Him    in 

power 
Of  those  who  now  sought    Him,   His    life    to 

devour.2 

The    Saviour    then    prayed    in    the  sadness   of 
grief, 

1  Mark,  iy.  15.—'  Mat.  xrri.  15,  16,  48. 


180  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

That    aid    from    His   Father  would   give    Him 

relief; 

"  Oh !    if  it  be  possible  this  cup  to  shun  ; 
But  Thy  will,  iiot  Mine,  O  My  Father !  be  done.1 
My  God,  wilt  Thou  leave  Me  to  die  in  their 

power  ? 
Why    hast    Thou    forsaken   Me    in    this    dark 

hour?"2 

Thus  Jesus  in  sorrow  and  anguish  did  pray, 
That  death  and  its  terrors  might  all  pass  away. 
But  prayerful  entreaties  and  efforts  all  failed, 
While  Satan  emboldened  in  triumph  prevailed. 
Thus  Jesus  was  taken  to  Pilate  and  tried, 
Who   doomed   Him  to  hang  on  the  cross    till 

He  died. 

The  sun  veiled  his  face  and  withheld  his  warm 

light,' 
Refusing  to  watch  o'er  the  heart-rending  eight: 

>  Mat.  xxvL  39. — '  xxvii.  46. — '  ixvii.  51. 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  181 

The  rock  ribs  of  earth  from  their  sockets  were  rent, 
And    the    dead    from    their    graves    in    earth's 

struggles  were  sent. 

But  Satan,  triumphant,  rejoiced  in  the  gloom, 
As  Jesus  was  laid  in  the  depths  of  the  tomb. 
Thus  in  the  great  contest  with  Father  and  Son, 
The  Devil  was  victor,  though  sadly  he  won. 
From  Eden's  fair  bowers,  unto  Calvary's  height, 
He  has  thwarted  God's  plans,  and  has  won 

every  fight ; 
And  his  broad,  crooked  road  is  still,  thronged 

every  day, 

"While  but  few  ever  walk  in   the  straight,  nar- 
row way.1 

I  would  not  pluck  a  gem  from  Jesus'  brow, 
Before  whose  name  all  monarchs  well  may  bow : 
But  thus  to  deify  that  blessed  name, 
And  think  all  others  ought  to  do  the  same, 
la  what  he  never  claimed,  much  less  did  plan, 

1  Mat.  vii.  13-14. 


182  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

For  he  but  called  himself  the  son  of  man.1 
Nor  was  he  void  of  worldly  care  and  strife, 
Or  wholly  free  from  some  mistakes  in  life. 
Behold  him,  as  he  hungered  by  the  way, 
And  saw  a  fig-tree,  in  the  light  of  day ; 
While  yet  the  time  of  figs  was  out  of  season, 
To  look  for  them  did  not  accord  with  reason ;  * 
And  still  he  thought  its  fruit  all  ripe  and  fair. 
Upon  the  leafy  boughs  were  hanging  there ; 
But  to  his  disappointment  none  were  found 
Among  the  verdant  leaves   nor  on  the  ground. 
This  so  disturbed  that  calm  and  peaceful  mind, 
He  to  the  great  mistake  was  not  resigned, 
And  therefore  caused  the  tree  to  fade  and  die, 
For  thus   deceiving    him,  while  passing  by.' 

Could   Christ    be   Grod,   who   knowing    all,   not 

know 
The  time  and  season  when  the  figs  should  grow  ? 

1  He  is  called  the  Son  of  Man,  by  Himself  aud  others,  eighty 
times  in  the  New  Testament. 
*  Mark.  xi.  13.— 3  Mat.  xxi.  19. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  18b 

And   also   seeing   all,  could    he   not  see^ 
If  figs  were   there   or   not    upon   the  tree  ? 
And  finding    none,  could    God    thus  vent    Hia 

spite, 

And  kill   a  harmless,   senseless  tree  outright? 
Is  this  the  God  who  mapped  the  vault  of  space 
With    rolling  worlds   that   keep   their  time   and 

place  ? 
Who     marks     the     bounds   of    each    revolving 

sphere, 

While  ages  pass,   and   cycles  disappear? 
Yet  counts  the  moments  as  they  swiftly  play, 
And  keeps  the  record  of  each  passing  day. 


If  he  were  God,  no  other  will  could  harm, 
None  could  betray,  or  signal  death's  alarm: 
No  supplication  to  a  higher  power, 
Could  swell  his  soul  when  threat'ning  tempests 

lower ; 
And  yet  he  prayed  to  God  in  earnest  tone, 


184  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

And  said  Thy  will,  O  God,  not   mine,  be  done.1 

But   it  is   claimed    his  miracles   combine 

To  prove  that    he,   in  truth,  was  the  Divine. 

Yet  Christ  doth  say  in  language  plain  and  true, 

That  greater  deeds  than  mine  shall  others  do. 

"  I  can  do  nothing  of  myself  alone  ;3 

Thus   in   God's   strength   I  work,  and   not    my 

own  ; 

And  though  my  second  coming  is  revealed, 
Yet     God     from     me     hath     kept    the     time 

concealed." 3 

Christ   also   asserted    which    none   can    deny, 
"  I  go  to   my  Father,  who's  greater  than   I," 4 
And    whenever  called  good    the   statement   de- 
nied, 
And  said,  "  God  is  good,  and  none  other  beside." ' 

Then  do  not  call    him  God,  while  all  can  scan 
Page   after  page   that  proves    him  but   a  man ; 

1  Luke,  xxii.  42. — *  John,  v.  30. — '  Mat.  xxiv  3G.— *  Johu    ri» 
28. — •  Mat.    xiz.  17  ;  i.  18;  Luke,  xviii.  19. 
8* 


VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION.  185 

But  rather  call    him   by    his    chosen  name, 
The  "  son  of  man,"  who  sought  no  higher  aim ; 
Yet  let  us  seek  in  all  that's  good  and  great, 
His  noble  life  of  love  to  imitate. 
And  though    he  was  a  man  of  favored  birth, 
A  moral  light-house  in  this  darkened  earth, 
Yet  not  unlike  all  other  men  was  born, 
Who  grope  in  darkness,  or  the  earth  adorn; 
Which  is  the  path  that  angels  all  have   trod, 
While  they  with  Christ  aud  us  are  SONS  OF  GOD. 

O  mortals !  mark  the  folly  of  your  creeds, 
How  they  ignore  a  life  of  honest  deeds, 
And  force  belief  in  Christ   as  God  of   all, 
Or  be  forever  damned  for  Adam's  fall. 
Though  deeds  of  love  are  daily  our  delight, 
Though  we    despise    the    wrong   and    love    the 

right, 

The  poor  and  needy  may  our  bounty  share, 
In    deeds    that   speak    the    language    of    true 

prayer, 


186  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

'Twill  not  release  the  soul  from  endless  hell, 
Where  angry  God   and   demons   ever   dwell.1 
But  once   believe,  and   bow  the   bended   knee. 
And   Heaven   is   ours  through  all  eternity,2 
Though  steeped  in  sin,  or  dyed  in  human  blood, 
Or  make   our  path   of  life   a  crimson   flood, 
Belief  in   Christ  will   make   us   white   as  wool, 
And   give  us  fellowship  with   God   in   full.3 

Will   this  suffice,  is  asked   with   wild   delight, 
To  change   a  demon   to  angelic  light  ? 
The  church   declares  there  is  no   other  way, 
And   then   will   qualify   their   creeds,   and   say : 
You  must  believe  that  Christ  and  God  are  one ; 
That   Christ  is   God,   and  yet   God's   only   sou  ; 
That  Satan   thwarted   God  when  Adam  fell, 
And  doomed  the  race  of  man   to   endless  hell ; 
That   God  in  grief  repented  making  man, 
Because  the  Devil   foiled  Him  in   His  plan.4 

'Psalm   vii.  11;   cxxxix.   8. — *Mark,  xvi.  16. — '  Isa.  i.  18.— 
Gf.'n.  vi.  6. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  181 

Th^t  His  designs  with  man   have  ever  failed ; 
That  sin   and   Satan   ever  have  prevailed  ; 
That  when  God  came  to  earth  in  its  dark  hour, 
To  rescue  man  from  Satan's  ruling  power, 
In   this  great  contest   God   Himself  was   slain, 
And  all  His  efforts  to  escape  were  vain.1 
They   only  took   His   mortal   life,   you   say, 
While  His  divine  survived  the  dreadful  day; 
But  I  in  kindness   will   the  creeds  implore, 
To  tell  if  any  ever  murdered   more. 

You  must  believe  that  Satan's  scheme   devised 
That  God  should  be  rejected  and  despised, 
And  that  the  masses  should   His   name  deny, 
And  by  His  chosen  race  was  doomed  to  die. 
That  those  selected  as  the  only  seed, 
To  represent  His  name  in  word  and  deed, 
Led  on  by  Satan's  will,  performed  the  crime 
And  cast  the  shadow  on  the  face  of  time. 
That  Nature  mourned  without  a  God,  in  gloom, 

1  Mat.  xxvl  36-44. 


188  VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION. 

Until  He  burst  the  bars  that  bound  the  tomb, 

You  must  believe  that  men  are  all  depraved,1 
And  that  but  few  of  all  mankind  are  saved  ;2 
Yet  by  God's  cruel  death,  oh,  strange  to  tell, 
These  few  are  thus  released  from  endless  hell;1 
For  every  creed  declares  all  hope  is  vain, 
If    Christ     the     son     of    God     had    not    been 

slain  ; 

And  yet  I  think  no  creed  will  dare  deny 
That  Satan  caused  the  Lord  their  God  to  die : 
Thus    it    would    seem    that    all    who    rest    in 

peace, 
May  thank  the  Devil  for  their  kind  release  ! 

You    must   believe   that    Christ's    great    trump 

will  sound, 

And  waken  all  that  sleep  beneath  the  ground ; 
That    bone    to    bone,    with    bodies,   limbs,    and 

veins, 

1  Psa.  liii.  1,  3  ;  Rom.  iii.  12.— "Mat.  xx.  1C.—'  Acts,  xx  28 
Bom.  v.  9,  &c.,  &c.— 4  1  Cor.  xv.  52-54. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  ISO 

Will    be    replete    with    their    old    nerves    and 

brains : 

That  every  soul  of  Adam's  ancient  race, 
Are  held  in  doubt,  in  some  sequestered  place, 
Are  waiting  for  the  last  great  judgment  day, 
While  mournful  years  and  ages  pass  away; 
But  strange  to  tell,  this  trumpet's  awful  blast, 
Will  bring  their  soulless  bodies  forth  at  last, 
And,  as  the  Judge  decides,  in  Heaven  or  Hell, 
Both  soul  and  body  must  forever  dwell; 
That  while  eternal  ages  wend  their  way, 
All  must  be  cumbered  with  this  load  of  clay; 
And  that  the  sober  few  with  waving  palms, 
Will    ever    praise     God's     name     by    singing 

psalms.1 

All  this  you  must  believe,  and  more, 
If  yon  would  reach  their  heavenly  shore. 

Who  can  believe  what  seemeth  but  a  lie? 
But  if  I   could,  I'd  rather  starve  and  die, 

1  Rev.  vii.  9. 


190  VOICE    OF  SUPERSTITION. 

Than  stifle  reason  and  all  sense  of  right, 

To  blind  my  eyes,  and  swear  there  is  no  light ! 

Belief  is  the  persuasion  of  a  soul, 

Which  force  of  circumstances  must  control. 

No  wonder  that  "  not  many  wise  obey," 

Or  "  travel  on  the  straight  and  narrow  way,"1 

Or  that  the  broad  and  crooked  thoroughfare, 

Is  thronged  with  men  of  sense  who  travel  there. 

For  those  who  dare  to  walk  by  reason's  light, 

Prefer  the  day  to  superstition's  night; 

And  thus  obey  the  laws  of  God  within  ; 

All  doing  less,  must  live  in  conscious  sin  ; 

None  can  do  more,  for  God  in  His  behest, 

But  governs  all  as  seemeth  wise  and  best. 

Thus    should   all    souls    their  highest  thoughts 

obey — 
Be  finite  gods  in  all  they  do  and  say. 

O  Reason,  lend  thy  hand,  let  truth  prevail, 
Before  whose  light  all  dismal  creeds  must  fail  1 

1  1  Cor.  i.  26. 


VOICE    OF   SUPERSTITION.  JQ] 

And  may  a  GOD  of  HOLY  LOVE  be  known, 
A  God  who  rules  creation  as  His  own, 
"Without  a  power  to  hinder  or  delay, 
While  nature  moves  in  its  appointed  way  : 
A  God  with  but  one  plan,  one  grand  design, 
In   which   all  systems,   suns,   and    spheres  com- 
bine; 

While  man,  the  crowning  apex  of  the  whole, 
Like  suns  and  worlds  is  subject  to  control. 
And  yet  in  man  all  forms  and  powers  combine 
A  union  of  the  human  and  divine, 
The  ultimatum  of  God's  grand  design. 
"And  as  the  spheres  revolve  their  tireless  rounds 
Man  still  progressing  hath  no  spheres  nor  bounds ; 
But  while  unending  ages  onward  roll, 
No  power  will  check  the  progress  of  a  soul. 


THE   VOICE  OF  PRAYER 


PRELUDE. 

THE  aspirations  of  the  soul  ascend 
On  wings  of  hope,  to  scenes  divinely  fair ; 
Nor  bars  nor  bolts  can  hold  the  silent  power 
That  seeks  the  elements  of  light  and  love  * 
1"he'j  cherish  every  longing  of  the  sorii, 
\f,\  thoughtful  prayer  dispel  all  slavish  f<sar, 
JLet  radiant  hope  extend  her  full-fledged  wingij 
For  all  our  prayers  and  hopes,  hut  dimly  paint 
The  lofty  heights  to  which  we  will  attain. 


THE  YOICE  OF  PKAYER 


TKTJE  prayer  is  a  boon  to  the  sorrowing  soul, 
The  anchor  of  hope  when  the  dark  billows  roll ; 
The  magnet  that  points  through  the  gloom  to  the  star, 
And  guides  our  frail  bark  to  the  haven  afar. 
It  opens  within  every  channel  of  love, 
And  brings  us  in  union  with  angels  above — 
'Tis  a  ladder  that  lifts  every  child  of  the  sod 
In  closer  communion  with  Nature  and  God. 
It  strengthens  the  soul  in  its  hallowed  powers, 
To  merit  the  land  with  its  evergreen  bowers; 
It  lightens  the  burdens  of  sorrow  and  gloom, 
And  cheers  the  dark  passage  that  arches  the  tomb. 
Yet  our  prayers  must  accord  with  immutable  laws, 
Else  we  pray  for  effects  independent  of  cause. 

But  the  zealot  declares,  "If  in  faith  you  implore, 
All  prayers  will  be  auswered  in  bountiful  store ; 


196  THE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER. 

Though  faith   may  but   equal  a  small   mustard 

seed, 

To  the  sin  stricken  soul  it  supplies  every  need, 
While  even  the  mountains  will  heed  his  decree, 
And  leap  with  one  bound  to  the  depth  of  the 

sea ! "  * 


But  who  can  have  faith  that  ignores  every  sense  ? 
The  very  assumption  is  empty  pretense, 
And  rivets  the  chains  to  a  cowardly  slave, 
Divested  of  all  that  is  noble  and  brave; 
Whose  faltering  tongue  can  but  feebly  express 
What  manhood  and  honor  would  gladly  suppress; 
Whose  faithless  petitions  oft  burden  the  air, 
Directing  his  Maker  through  long,  windy  prayer, 
Where  the  line  of  His  duties  explicitly  run, 
Their    order    and    details   when    all    should    be 
done ; 

*  Mat.  XXL,  31. 


THE  VOICE  Off  PEA  YER.  1Q7 

Whose  vain  innuendoes,  if  answered  at  all, 
The    rounds    of    creation    would     stagnate    and 

fall! 

Oh  man!  be  a  man  in  the  sense  of  a  soul 
Full  conscious  of  faith  in  a  Father's  control, 
A    faith     that     unlocks     the    deep     caverns    of 

thought, 

Regardless  of  phantoms  that  bigots  have  wrought. 
A  faith  that  illumines  the  vault  of  the  skies, 
Where     joys     are     eternal — where     hope    never 

dies, 

Where  every  immortal  with  boundless  desires, 
In  its  zenith  of  glory  will  kindle  new  fires! 
For    scenes     so     transporting,     to    shorten    the 

way, 
Let  faith  ever  move  us  to  labor  and  pray. 

Ever  pray  with  the  law,  so  shall  harmony  reign, 
And  your  prayers  will  not  mock  you,  as  utterly 
vain. 


198  THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER. 

Then  pray  that  the  shadows  may  fall  from  your 

eyes, 
That   truth  may    but    triumph,   while   prejudice 

dies, 
That     all     may     embrace     what    their    highest 

thoughts  crave, 

Each  think  for  himself,  not  be  led  like  a  slave ; 
That  reason  and  conscience  may  ever  prevail, 
Though  cherished  opinions  forever  may  fail ; 
Then    fervently    pray    in    the    light    of   God's 

laws, 
That   prayers  may   be    heard,   as  effects  follow 

cause. 


But  to  pray  that  the  Lord   will  in  mercy  come 

down, 
To  feed  some  poor  beggar  that  comes  to  your 

town, 

Is  asking  your  Maker  in  kindness  to  do 
Precisely  the  work  He  has  given  to  you. 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER.  199 

How  vain  are  the  prayers  that  the  starving  be 

fed, 
Compared  to  bestowing  a  morsel  of  bread. 

To  pray  that  kind  showers  may  hi  bounty  de- 
scend, 

That  earthquakes  and  hurricanes  ne'er  may  of- 
fend— 

That  fire  may  not  burn  you,  and  water  not 
drown — 

To  jump  from  a  steeple  and  gently  come 
down, — 

Is  asking  Jehovah  to  alter  His  law, 

As  much  as  to  say  you've  detected  a  flaw  I 

To  pray  that  the  innocent  suffer  for  crime, 
That  we  in  our  folly  committed  through  time, 
Is  to  censure  the  passage  that  all  should  revere, 
fiaith,    that    "the  guilty   can   -never   go 
c^ear : "  * 

»  Ei.  iixiv.  7. 


200  THE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER. 

No  repentance,  no  faith  can  e'er  banish  a  woe, 

For  the  truth  is  revealed,  "  all  must  reap  what 
they  sow"  * 

No  forgiveness  can  ever  change  tares  into 
wheat, 

He  who  sows,  must  uproot  them,  and  learn  by 
defeat ; 

Then  "blend  all  your  prayers  with  this  true  reve- 
lation, 

That  "each  for  himself  must  work  out  his  salva- 
tion "  1  f 

We    must    grow    from   within   or    in    weakness 

must  fall. 

To  trust  to  another,  we  jeopardize  all, 
Our  wills  must  arouse  us  to  labor  and  pray, 
And  hold  us  to  duty's  benificent  way. 
This  school  of  self  culture  will  lead  us  at  length 
To  rely  on    our   powers,   and    to   grow    in    our 

strength  ; 

*.Gal.  vi.  7.  tPhil.  ii.  1:3. 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER.  201 

Thus   upward    and    onward   from   earth    to  the 

skies, 
We'll  work  our  own  passage  by  working  to  rise 

The  "  Prodigal  Son  "  in  the  annals  of  time, 
Gives  blessings  unearned  to  a  dark  life  of  crime  ; 
Behold    him   estranged   from   the   home  of  hie 

youth — 

A  wayward  apostate  to  virtue  and  truth, 
Exhausting  his  substance  by  riotous  strife, 
He  beggars  himself  in  the  morning  of  life ; 
lie  poisons  the  stream  from  the  fountain  divine, 
Till  at  last  he  becomes  but  a  servant  of  swine ! 
The  fruit  of  his  folly  he  feels  to  despise, 
To  return  to  his  father  he  now  doth  arise  ; 
But  what  a  transition  awaiteth  his  name, 
And  what  a  reward  for  his  folly  and  shame! 
From  swine  in  their  filth  and  from  penniless  woe, 
He  flies  like  an  arrow  that's  sped   from  a  bow, 
And  alights  where  the  tumults  of  gladness  await. 


202  THE  VOICE  Off  PRAYER. 

Where  he's  feasted   and   clad  in  the   fashion  of 

state ; 

Embellished  in  garments  of  princely  attire, 
Of  all  others  he  now  is  the  one  to  admire. 
His  brother  who  never  had  swerved  from  the 

right, 

"Was  veiled  in  the  shadows  of  his  brilliant  light ; 
No  wonder  he  felt  that  injustice  and  wrong, 
Was    feasting    the    wayward — was    breathed    in 

their  song. 

Even  the  prodigal  on  his  return, 
Manfully  chose  like  a  servant  to  earn 
His  way  to  promotion,  by  labor  and  care, 
Till  justice  awarded  a  portion  his  share. 
And  this  is  the  law  by  which  all  must  arise, 
From  the  shadows  of   earth  to  the  light  of   the 

skies. 


A  rapid  transition  from  sinner  to  saint, 

An  artist  may  fashion  with   canvass  and  paint : 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER.  203 

But  Nature  unfoldeth  her  germs  by  degrees, 

•/  O 

From  the  tiniest  flower  to  the  sturdiest  trees ; 
And  man  in  his   progress  this  law  must   fulfill, 
Whose   life   currents  swell  by  the  force  of  hia 

will. 

Then  let  us  all  pray  that  our  work  be  well  done, 
And  avoid  the  broad  road  of  the  prodigal  son ; 
And  may  all  awards  and  all  blessings  be  spumed, 
Not  founded  in  justice — not  honestly  earned. 

The  oak  all  alone  on  the  top  of  the  hill, 
With  roots  that  lay  hold  of  the  rocks, 

Defieth  the  storm  with  a  confident  thrill, 
The  earth  with  its  Leavings  and  shocks. 

But  to  grow  in  the  valley  surrounded  by  trees, 
Where  each  gives  protection  to  all, 

Where   tornadoes  in   fragments   come  soft  as  a 

breeze, 
Divided,  they  totter  and  fall. 


'204  THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER. 

Then  let  us  in  weakness  develop  to  strength — 
Grow  strong  like  the  oak  on  the  hill, 

For  patient  endurance  will  conquer  at  length, 
By  the  force  of  invincible  will. 


To  fully  possess  we  must  honestly  earn, 
All  else  will  be  counted  as  naught ; 

By  self  application  we  only  can  learn, 
Or  scale  the  bright  summit  of  thought. 


Then  ever  be  grateful  for  something  to  do, 
And  do  it  with  cheerful  good  will, 

Defying  all  evil  be  noble  and  true, 
And  grow  like  the  oak  on  the  hill. 


But  total  depravity's  withering  blight, 

Still  mantles  the  church  in  a  sorrowful   night. 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER.  205 

And  creed*  in  their  darkness  as  ever  distrust 
Man's  reason  as  carnal,  his  virtues  but  lust ; 
Disclaiming  all  merit  ^n  duty  well  done, 
They  lean  on  the  arm  of  God's  dutiful  son  ; 
In  weakness  and   darkness    they  plod  the    same 

rounds, 

Discarding  the  wisdom  of  changing  their  bounds. 
All  moral  achievements  of  whatever  name, 
And  doeds  of  a  demon  are  counted  the  same, 
So  far  as  the  merits  of  either  avail, 
As  neither  can  weigh  in  an  orthodox  scale. 


Rut  Calvin's  adherents  in  doctrine  maintain, 
That  even  the  merits  of  Christ  are  all  vain  ; 
That  foreordination  defines  the  elect, 
And  limits  all  reprobates  God  will  reject; 
Transgression  can  forfeit  no  claim  to  the  throne , 
No  virtue  can  ever  rob  hell  of  its  own! 
In  this  sad  dilemma  we  never  can  tell, 


206  THE  VOICE  Of  TRAYER. 

Which  is  our  destiny,  heaven  or  hell  1 

So  each  bides  his  time,  and  ever  must  wait, 

Till    the   judge   in    all   kindness    announces  our 

fate ! 

Oh  what  a  delusion  for  men  to  believe! 
What  teachers,  when  teaching  is  but  to  deceive ! 
What  a  license  to  indolence,  folly  and  crime, 
To  darken  the  sands  in  the  pathway  of  time ! 
Oh  reason  and  justice  illumine  the  way, 
And  be  their  companions  whenever  they  pray. 


Man  prays  that  his  Maker   would   lengthen   his 

days, 

While  the  laws  of  his  being  he  seldom^  obeys ; 
The  spirit  immortal  will  gladly  depart 
When  life-giving  fountains  congeal  at  the  heart ; 
No  law  is  suspended  should  earth  everywhere 
Unite  in  one  chorus,  to  swell  the  same  prayer  I 


THE  VOWS  OF  PRAYER.  207 

An  honest  old  negro  most  ardent  in  prayer, 
With    reason     and    faith     not    developed    with 

care, 

In  asking  God's  blessing  on  each  frugal  meal, 
For    what    he    most    needed    made    earnest    ap- 
peal. 

A  wag  who  perceived  his  potatoes  were  gone, 
With  basket  brim  full,  at  the  earliest  dawn, 
Secreted  himself  in  the  cabin  o'er  head, 
Where  the  negro   below  him   yet  slumbered   in 

bed; 
Who  soon  roused   to  cooking  the  best  he  was 

able, 

And  under  the  hatchway  spread  out  his  pine  ta- 
ble. 

Without  a  potatoe  to  grace  any  plate, 
He  seated  himself,  yet  bewailing  his  fate, 
Exclaimed,  "  O  my  Fader,  in  merciful  love, 
Give  Cliffy  some  'taters  from  bounties  above." 
At  once  the  potatoes  came  showering  down, 
Upsetting  his  dishes,  and  pelting  his  crown  I 


208  THE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER. 

"  O  them's  urn,  them's  um,  bless  de  Lord,  0 
my  soal  1 

Who  cares  for  de  coffee,  de  pitcher  and  bowl  ? 

De  showw  of  big  'taters,  O  Lord,  am  sub- 
lime,— 

But  I  pray  dat  you  leff  um  down  easy  next 
time." 

Whether    fiction     or     fact,     this     illustrates,     1 

deem, 
That    smiie   answers  to  prayer  are  not    all    that 

they  seem. 

Then  pray  that  your  prayers  with  God's  la\vs 
ever  blend 

In  union  with  deeds,  that  will  bless  and  ex- 
tend ; 

For  these  are  the  prayers  that  the  Lord  evei 
heeds, 

Regardless  of  color,  of  birth,  or  of  creeds. 


TEE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER.  209 

Our  homes  that  protect  us   from  sunshine   and 

storm, 

A.re  prayerful  emotions  in  tangible  form : 
Asylums  and  churches,  and  schools  everywhere, 
Are  fruits  of  our  labor  commingled  with  prayer. 
Admitting  their  errors,  1  pity  the  thought 
That    chides     every     movement    not    perfectly 

wrought, 

For  each  hath  a  mission,  and  laudable  plan. 
And  rather  than  censure,  improve,  if  you  can: 
Fraternal  forbearance,  and  charity  should 
Excuse  many  follies,  where  motives  are  good. 


The  church  all  advise  us  that  Christ  taught  with 
care, 

Not  only  the  duty,  but  manner  of  prayer, 

Yet  his  prayers  were  in  private — alone  he  re- 
tired, 

Where  his  thoughts  undiverted  to  heaven  as- 
pired ; 


210  THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER. 

In  the  depth  of  the  forest  at  evening'?  repose, 
When    Nature    forgets    all    her    turmoil    and 

woes, 
There   Christ  wends  his  way,   from   fhe  scenes 

of  commotion, 

And  his  altar  illumes  with  the  flames  of  devo- 
tion !  * 

By  example  and  precept  he  taught  evermore, 
To  enter  our  closet,  and  shutting  the  door 
In    secret    to   pray:    and    that   moments   thus 

spent, 

Would  surely  reward  us  wherever  we  went.f 
But  to    pray    before   men    at    the    corners    of 

streets, 
Or  with   multitudes  thronging  the  synagogue's 

seats, 

Is  to  be  like  the  hypocrites,  selfish  and  vain, 
Who  thus  seek  the  praises  of  men  to  attain 4 


*  Mat.  xiv.  23,  Mark  vi.  46,  Luke  v.  16,  also  vi.  12. 
\  Mat.  vi.  6.  |  vi.  5. 


THE  VOICE  OF  PR  A  YER.  211 

Then    enter    your    closet — your    soul's    center 

closet, 
Alone  with  your  God,  with  your  thoughts  deep 

within, 

There  pray  that  you  ever,  by  earnest  endeavor, 
May  fight  the  good  fight  and  the  victory  win. 


A  word  kindly  spoken  the  right  time  and  place, 
May  lift   some   dark  soul    from   the  depths  of 

disgrace ; 

May  waken  a  prayer  on  the  altar  of  love, 
That  ends  in  fruition,  with  angels  above: 
We    thus    build    a    ladder, — each    deed    is    a 

round, — 
That    reaches    to    heaven,    while    touching    the 

ground ; 

For  in  aiding  the  least  is  involved  the  reward — 
"  Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  * 

*  Mat.  xxv.  21,  23. 


212  TEE  VOICE  OF  PRATER. 

Then  pray    with   your   purse,    with  kind  words 

and  good  deeds; 
O  pray  that   our  churches   may    think  less    of 

creeds, 

That  ever  the  poor  may  be  welcomed  within, 
Though    garments     are    tattered — souls    blotted 

with  sin — 
And  that  love,  pure,  unselfish,  each  heart  may 

expand, 
And  peace,  with  its    blessings    pervade    every 

land. 

O  pray  that  intemperance  wither  and  die, 
That    man,     disenthralled,    set    his    mark    ever 

high ; 

That  Nature  may  never  indict  us  for  treason, 
That  man  slake  his  thirst   at  the  fountain  of 

reason. 
That  the  sword  may  succumb  to  the   power  of 

the  pen, 
And   be   sheathed    by   the   highest    tribunals  of 

men. 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRATER.  213 

O    pray    for    the    children    that    beg    by    the 

way, 
So   friendless,    no    kindness   to   cheer   the   long 

day; 
Their   minds   while  yet  tender  by  love  are  im 

pressed, 
Then   plant  your  affections  within  their  yonng 

breast ; 

"Who  knows  by  the    surface  the    treasures   be- 
low? 

Where  grateful  emotions  their  forces  bestow? 
You  may  haply  develop  a  germ  in  the  soul, 
That  will  from  that  moment  have  strength  of 

control. 
Then    nurture    the    children — the    dear    loving 

children, 

That  smilingly  greet  us  wherever  we  turn, 
Instruct    them   to  triumph,    that    bearing    life'? 

burden, 
Its    lessons   of   patience    and   power   they    may 

learn. 


214  THE  VOICE  OF  PRATER. 

May  woman  (God  bless  her!)  have  equal  positior 
With  man,  under  law,  and  in  every  condition. 
Her   "  ballot "   so  gentle  like   "  snowflakes "   de- 
scending— 

With  feminine  features  through  laws  interblending, 
May  round  the  rough  angles  of  turbulent  man, 
That  she  in  her  genius  may  be  all  she  can. 
Her  true  intuitions,  oft  valued  as  naught, 
Will  reach  a  conclusion  with  flash  of  a  thought ; 
While  man  with  his  reason,  though  massive   and 

strong, 
With  pond'rous  assumptions  comes  plodding  along ! 


Remember  the  Indians  with  filial  affection, 
And  give  them  our  laws,  with  their  arms  of  pro- 
tection. 

O  pray  for  yourself  in  the  depth  of  your  soul — 
That  passion  and  appetite  never  control — 
That  wisdom  may  guide  every  action  of  life — 
That  love  conquer  hatred,  and  banish  all  strife. 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER.  21E 

If  a  husband,  or  wife,  then  nurture  with  care 
Reciprocal  love,  from  the  fountain  of  prayer ; 
Four  little  attentions  should  daily  entwine, 
Like  tendrils  that  hold  every  fast-clinging  vine. 

Your  children  should  walk  in  the  breath  of 
your  love, 

While  teaching  earth's  lessons,  direct  them 
above. 

O  make  your  homes  happy  with  cheerful  de- 
light, 

And  children  like  chickens  will  come  home  at 
night ; 

And  none  of  your  household  will  willingly 
roam, 

But  ever  remember  "  There's  no  place  like 
home." 

It  was  labor  with  prayer  that  dotted  the  seas 
With    the   sails   of  the    mariner    filled    by    the 
breeze. 


216  THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER. 

And  gave  him  the  compass  which  points  to  the 

star, 
To  guide  him  in  safety  o'er  oceans  afar. 

The    prayer    of    Columbus    'mid    slander    and 

wrong, 

Gave  birth  to  Columbia's  beautiful  song. 
How    sadly    he    prayed,    'till    his    labors    were 

blest, 
With  a  home  for   the   world    "In   the  Land  of 

The  West." 

Then  labor  and  pray  'till  the  isles  of  the  sea, 
Inscribe  on  their  banner   "  THE  LAND  OF   THK 

FKEE"! 


We  little  know  by  what  enduring  strife,1 
Our  fathers  brought  this  continent  to  life ; 
How  long  and  weary  were  their  early  years, 
How  sad  and  dreary  were  their  daily  fears, 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER.  217 

While  untaught  Nature  frowned  at  every  blow, 
And    like    the    red     man    was    their    stalwart 

foe; 

How  Britain  ever  claimed  the  "Lion's  share" 
Of  their  unceasing  toil  and  anxious  care, 
And  yet  they  bore  oppression  like  a  sage, 
Until  endurance  kindled  into  rage, 
Then  they  proclaimed,   "henceforth  we  will  be 

free/" 

And  sank  old  Britain's  taxes  with  her  tea. 
Then  came  their  seven  years'  war — a  seven  fold 

strand, 

That  bound  their  hearts  in  one  heroic  band ; 
One  prayer  was  borne  on  their  united  breath, 
"  O  give  us  Liberty,  or  give  us  death !  " 
At  last  triumphant  they  became  a  Nation, 
And  States  were  Stars  of  one  Grand   Constella 

tion! 

But  early  in  their  weary  toil. 
In  felling  trees  to  till  the  soil, 


218  THE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER. 

Their  brawny  arms  though  hard  and  strong, 
By  toiling  early,  late  and  long 
Their  hearts  though  brave  and  ever  truo, 
To  build  this  Western  World  anew, 
Were  feeble  in  their  force  and  skill, 
Compared  to  their  unbending  will  j 
Their  needs  were  father  of  this  prayer, 
That  burst  upon  the  willing  air: 

"Aid,  for  the  toiler  in  his  strife! 
Aid,  for  a  Nation's  early  lifel 
Aid,  for  our  wives  who  spin  and  weave! 
Their  toilsome  hours  we  pray  relieve  1 
Aid,  that  our  lands  may  not  repose, 
But  bloom  in  beauty  like  the  rose. 
Let  forests  bow  their  stately  pride, 
That  we  may  o'er  their  ashes  ride; 
Let  Towns,  and  Cities  rear  their  heads, 
For  those  who  sleep  in  trundle  beds: 
Cornel  any  force,  whate'er  it  be, 
And  we  will  join  our  fate  with  thee. " 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER.  219 

Their    prayers     were     heard      o'er     hill     and 

plain, 

Nor  did  they  supplicate  in  vain: 
For  laughing  streams,  whose  voices  rang, 
As  down  the  cliffs  they  danced  and  sang, 
Were  checked  amid  their  mirthful  reel, 
And  made  to  turn  a  water-wheel ! 


Then  steam  that  hissed  with  foaming  pride, 
Defying  all  the  powers  beside, 
Was  caught  within  an  iron  cage, 
While  boiling  o'er  with  heated  rage! 
His  force  excited  naught  could  hold, 
And  though  his  will  was  scarce  controlled, 
It  was  observed,  if  not  abused, 
II  is  forces  could  be  wisely  used. 
Then  spindles  hummed  at  his  behest — 
O'er  ocean  towered  his  cloudy  crest. 
The  iron  horse  the  wind  outran, 
And  made  the  world  anew  for  man ! 


220  THE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER. 

The  lightning  from  the  clouds  was  caught — 
And  vitalized  with  living  thought; 
Our  Franklin  reined  the  flaming  steed, 
While  Morse  subdued  him  to  our  need, 
Whose  heart  propels  electric  fires, 
Around  the  world  on  slender  wires  1 


With  rnagic  life  new  scenes  unfurled 
Their  wonders  to  a  new-born  world  I 
Our  iron  ribs  across  our  breast, 
Bore  loaded  wheels  at  our  behest; 
The  reins  of  thought  were  in  our  hands, 
While  we  conversed  with  distant  lands ; 
Our  fertile  fields  from  shore  to  shore, 
Fed  other  N  ations  from  our  store ; 
While  every  tongue,  and  tribe  of  earth, 
Was  welcomed  at  our  Nation's  hearth : 
We    grew     in     numbers,     wealth     and     pow- 
er, 
And  lived  an  age  in  every  hour  1 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER.  221 

But  pride  the  bane  of  worldly  strength, 
Grew  with  our  growth  until,  at  length, 
A  viper  coiled  around  our  heart, 
And  chilled  our  blood  by  fiendish  art. 
Thus  stupefied  we  ceased  to  pray, 
While  his  cold  coils  extended  lay. 
Until  a  mother's  burdened  prayer, 
Electrified  the  midnight  air: 
With  frenzied  lamentations  wild, 
She  prayed,  "  O  give  me  back  my  child  I 
O  God,  return  my  darling  boy, 
And  fill  a  mother's  soul  with  joy !  " 


Her  prayer  was  echoed  far  and  wide, 
It  caught  the  breeze  and  kissed  the  tide; 
Responses  met  her  earnest  plea 
For  Justice,  Truth,  and  Liberty. 
Yet  all  the  powers  of  hell  were  hurled, 
To      choke      the      prayers      that     shook      the 
world  I 


222  THE  VOICE  OF  FRA  YER. 

But  Justice  held  her  even  scales, 
In  which  the  right  at  length  prevails ; 
And  though  the  blood  of  thousands  slain 
With  iron  hail,  was  shed  like  rain  ; 
Though  conflict  raged  most  fierce  and  strong, 
Though  days  were  dark  and  years-so-long, 
Yet  Freedom's  glorious  banner  rose 
Triumphant,  over  all  our  foesl 

O  hills,  and  dales,  and  laughing  streams, 
Kissed  by  the  Sun's  enamored  beams, 
Send  your  glad  shout  from  sea   to  sea — 
"  One  Land  on  GocFs  green  Earth  is  free "  / 

Free?  Think,  Oh  man,  in  this  glad  hour 

Doth    Woman  share  thy  freedom's  dower  ? 

Remember — God  bestows  His  care 

Of  sex  regardless  everywhere — 

All  are  the  equal  children — all, 

Of  Him  who  notes  the  "  sparrow's  fall." 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER.  -223 

Must  she  who  is  thy  counterpart^- 
The  sunny  side  of  every  heart — > 
The  part  essential  to  the  whole, 
Not  have  a  voice  in  self-control  ? 

Must  woman  in  her  high  behest, 
Obey  alone  what  man  thinks  best, 
And  bow  to  his  supreme  control, 
A  thoughtless,  helpless,  prayerless  soul  I 
Be  taxed  like  man,  like  man  obey, 
Moulded  by  him  like  potter's  clay  ? 

Must  he  who  wins  a  loving  heart, 
By  his  illusive,  fiendish  art, 
Be  not  disgraced,  though  undisguised, 
While  she  is  ruined,  and  despised1? 

Must  she  who  rears  her  noble  sons — 
Her  daughters  fair,  from  little  ones, 
Have  naught  to  say  what  laws  shall  bless 
A  mother's  love,  and  tenderness? 


224  THE  VOICE  OF  PRA  YER 

Shall  legal  murder  scourge  the  land, 
Whose  poison  dens  at  every  hand 
Are  portals  to  a  drunkard's  grave, 
And  woman  tiave  no  power  to  sa/ve  f 
O  man  invoke  her  loving  aid, 
That  all  these  evils  may  be  stayed. 


The  prayers  of  our  fathers  were  more  than 
they  seemed, 

When  the  sunshine  of  Liberty  over  them 
beamed, 

For  when  they  proclaimed  equal  rights  through- 
out earth  ! 

Our  Goddess  conceived,  and  ere  long  will 
give  birth, 

For  her  pain  and  her  labor  foreshadow  the  morn, 

When  Freedom  the  child  of  her  love  will  be 
born. 

Then  laws  will  protect  every  child  of  the  sod, 

And  know  no  distinction,  like  Nature  and  God. 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRAYER.  225 

Then  man  will  in  peace  and  in  parity  grow, 
Without  the  intrusion  of,  Why  do  ye  so? 
Our    honest    convictions    like    sunbeams    will 

greet, 
And    many-toned    colors    will    blend    as   they 

meet; 
Then  all   will  be  judged  by  the  standard  of 

worth, 

Regardless  of  wealth  or  distinction  of  birth. 
Our  churches  wide  open,  divested  of  creeds, 
Will  mould  their  instruction  to  man's  highest 

needs : 

Their  lessons  of  wisdom  will  teach  self-control — 
A  health-giving  fountain  to  body  and  soul. 
The  gospel  of  love  will  with  laws  interblend, 
In  union  with  deeds,  for  a  glorious  end : 
With  one  common  brotherhood  under  the  sun, 
All  union  of  interests  center  in  one. 
Our  natures  expanded  by  freedom  of  thought, 
Though  all    become    teachers,   all   seek   to   be 

taught ; 


THE  VOICE  OF  PRATER. 

Yet    thought   in   its    channel,  like   rivers   will 

flow 
To   the   Ocean  of   Truth,   as  still   onward   we 

go; 

Till  the  Banner  of  Peace  and  Good  Will  is 
unfurled, 

To  all  Oceans  and  Lands  that  encircle  the 
World ! 

That  all  these  rich  blessings  may  bloom  every- 
where, 

Let  Nations  unite  in  effectual  Prayer. 


2  estimoniah. 

From  the  many  critical  notices  and  reviews  of  "  THE  VOICES," 
we  have  only  room  for  a  few  brit'f  extracts. 

Judge  BAKER  of  New  York,  in  his  elaborate  review  of  "THE 
VOICES,"  says  :  "  Considered  In  the  light  of  a  controversial  or  didactic 
poem,  it  is  without  an  equal  in  contemporaneous  literature— the  birth  of 
an  audacious  mind,  and  is  destined  to  excite  greater  and  more  wide  en- 
circling waves  of  sectarian  agitation  than  any  anti-credal  work  ever  pub- 
lished." 

Prof.  S.  B.  BRITTAN,  in  his  able  review  of  the  work,  says  :    "  In  the 
Voice  of  Nature  the  author  gives  us  a  clearer  insight  into  his  own  views 
of  the  material  world,  of  human  nature  and  God.    He  has  a  rational  phi- 
losophy of  the  relations  of  mind  and  matter,  and  his  theology  is  at  once 
natural  and  charitable.    He  recognizes  one  God  everywhere,  present  alike 
ID  the  physical  world  and  in  Hia  moral  universe.    The  God  he  adores, 
and  his  strong  faith  in  the  goodness  that  rules  the  world,  are  clearly  re- 
vealed and  forcibly  expressed  in  the  following  paraphrastic  and  poetics! 
reuderlug  of  a  beautiful  passage  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount : 
Will  He  who  hears  the  ravens  when  they  cry, 
Mock  and  deride  thee  when  no  hope  is  nigh  T 
Will  He  who  clothes  the  lilies  of  the  tieid, 
That  neither  toil,  nor  spin,  nor  raimnnt  yield  ; 
Who  feeds  the  fowls  that  never  reap  nor  sow — 
Extends  His  watchful  care  where'er  they  go  ; 
Will  He  who  clothes  the  grass  which  is  to-day, 
While  all  its  beauty  quickly  fades  away, 
Forget  His  image — His  immortal  child  I 
Is  he  alone  derided  and  defiled  ? 
Or  left  to  tread  the  downward  thoroughfare 
With  Satan  to  bewilder  and  ensnare, 
And  urge  him  on  to  death  and  dark  despair  T 
•  O,  ye  of  little  faith ! '  let  reason  sway: 
Are  not  your  souls  mere  precious  far  than  they  t 

WIIXIAM  n.  BUKLEIOB,  a  well-known  author  and  poet,  in  one  of  his 
contributions  to  the  Chicago  Evening  Post,  thus  speaks  of  the  author  and 
"  THE  VOICES  : "  "  That  he  is  a  bold,  earnest  nwn,  with  very  pro 
nonnced  opinions,  that  he  has  a  combative  and  incf  jive  way  of  stating 
those  opinions,  and  that, below  all  seeming  antagonism  to  the  letter  of  old 
creeds,  he  accepts  the  spirit  of  the  new  dispensation,  his  book  furnishes 
abundant  evidence.  His  verse  is  generally  characterized  by  vigor,  and  at 
times  glides  with  a  true  rhythmetic  flow,  and  rings  with  a  genuine  poetic 
harmony." 


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